Boredom
by Amelia Bedelia
Summary: Renesmee is having a hard time adjusting at her new high school, but Jake is willing to do whatever he can to help her get through the day. Jake/Renesmee. Series of one-shots.
1. Boredom

**Author's Note: Here's the Jake/his-new-imprint story I promised you... and this is your last chance to stop reading if you don't want Breaking Dawn to be spoiled for you!**

**Enjoy!**

**Boredom**

"So…?" Emmett nudged my shoulder with a smirk in place. "How was your first day?"

I stumbled to the side at the amount of force Emmett put behind his casual gesture. My father was able to reach out and quickly grab my shoulders to hold me in place while I regained my balance. Once I was able to stand on my own, my father turned to Emmett and growled softly at him.

"Are you _trying_ to embarrass her on her first day of school?" he hissed over my head.

Emmett rolled his eyes. "_Relax_, Edward – she's a tough girl!"

Automatically I turned, taking in Emmett's massive biceps. I silently shook my head. Sure, I was a bit more _durable_ than most humans – but nowhere near as strong as Emmett.

My mother quickly stepped between Emmett and my father, breaking off their argument. "Edward is just trying to look out for Renesmee," she said in a soft voice, placing one hand on Emmett's shoulder. "He doesn't want her to make a bad impression on her first day."

Emmett rolled his eyes. "Like we'll ever see any of these people again…" he grumbled.

My mother sighed softly, appearing somewhat annoyed by Emmett's attitude, but I knew that the issue was resolved.

I shuffled outside into the drizzling rain, staring at my feet as I walked. My family hurried to the corner of the parking lot where we had parked our two, separate vehicles.

"Come on, honey," my mother called after me. I looked up and realized that I had been dragging my feet a bit more than usual, and then jogged over to the car where my parents were already standing, waiting for me.

The instant I climbed into the backseat, my father drove off just behind the rest of my family in the other car.

"Well, Renesmee?" my mother asked, turning in her seat to look at me. Normally I was a relatively silent person, but it was never because I was unhappy. Anything I needed to say could be easily passed along to anyone else if I simply touched their face.

That was probably why my mother looked so concerned when she saw that I had my arms crossed over my chest and my lips were pursed.

"Did you have fun at school?" she asked with a nervous expression.

I reached a hand forward and pressed a single finger to her temple. My thoughts of the day passed across my mind as a spark of electricity ran down my arm, through my fingers, and filled my mother's head.

She frowned.

"Renesmee, it couldn't have been that bad," she consoled, trying to make me feel better.

My father spoke up, having heard the thoughts in my head as I shared them with my mother. "You've never gone to a school before," he softly reminded me. "It's important that you start at the bottom before working your way to the top."

My mother nodded. "It's just for a few years," she said. "You have your entire life to do more."

I pulled my finger back and crossed my arms once more, refusing to converse with my parents in any way, shape, or form.

The car ride home was silent. My parents kept shooting nervous glances back and forth at each other. Maybe, I hoped, they were debating whether or not to send me back to that – _hellhole_.

My father cringed at my thoughts, but didn't say anything.

Sooner than it should have taken us, we were back home – but, I guess, when everyone in your family drives no less than sixty miles per hour, it's hard to get anywhere _slowly_. I took one glance up at the new home that we had moved into less than a week ago before jumping out of the car and storming inside.

The Cullen house was, if possible, even larger than the one we had back in Forks. It was still three stories, but it had nearly doubled in width. But, I reasoned, I guess it had to be a bit bigger than our previous house, considering there were a few more occupants than there had been before.

I was halfway to the door when I remembered that I had left my backpack in the car, but I was in no mood to turn back for it. Instead, I walked right into the house, past the soft chatter in the kitchen, and straight upstairs to the third floor.

The third floor was generally where I spent most of my time. My parents' room was just next door to mine and my best friend's room was directly across the hall.

Which was exactly where I went.

"Nessie, you're back!" Jake cried the minute I walked through his bedroom door. He was sprawled across his bed – all six and half feet of him – lying with one arm behind his head and the other holding up a remote. He quickly turned the television off and threw the remote to the foot of his bed. "It's been so _boring_ without you here," he moaned, turning his head to grin lazily at me.

The minute he caught my expression, however, he leapt off of his bed and met me at the door before I could move any further into his room.

"Ness, what happened?" he asked in a low voice. His wide, brown eyes darted back and forth, examining every inch of my face. "What's wrong?"

I stood still for a minute, debating whether or not I wanted my thoughts to remain secret from the rest of the household – but quickly decided I could care less what the others heard.

"I _hate_ school," I told him in a frantic whisper. "It's not fun." I dropped my gaze, staring straight ahead at Jake's bare chest. "Not even a little bit."

There was a moment of silence, and then Jake started to laugh.

I glared right back up at him, and he stopped chuckling.

"Nessie," he explained with a soft sigh, "school isn't supposed to be _fun_." That irritating smirk of his returned as he put his warm hands on my shoulders. "I dropped out before my junior year – do you think I would have quit if school had been _fun_?"

I blew out a puff of air from the corner of my mouth in irritation, glancing away from Jake and staring at the corner of his room. "But I'm a _freshman_," I growled, feeling angrier by the second. Jake was supposed to be _calming_ me – not getting me more worked up than before! I took a step back and looked down at my fully developed body. "I mean – do I _look_ like a freshman to _you_?"

Jake, too, stared down at me, his eyes trailing down my figure and slowly returning to my face. His cheeks turned pink as he lifted a hand to scratch his head. "Uh, no," he softly mumbled. "No, you don't look like a freshman…"

I nodded in satisfaction. "_Thank_ you!" I shouted, throwing my hands up in the air. Then I marched over to his bed and dropped onto the edge. "But they _enrolled_ me as a freshman!"

"Well…" Jake turned in the doorway, silently closing his bedroom door behind him. "The younger you start, the longer we can stay here," he pointed out. "If you started as a senior – there wouldn't be much of a point to stay here for longer than just a couple of years, right?"

"_Right_," I quickly agreed – but I wasn't even close to backing down from my argument. "But you'd think that at least they'd put me in a few _advanced_ classes!"

This comment seemed to have puzzled Jake. "Why didn't they?" he asked with a frown. "I mean – you already know more foreign languages than I do…"

I sighed. "Mom says she wants me to learn all of the basics," I explained. "She said I should get the 'proper instruction' before I jump to the advanced classes."

Jake's eyebrows shot up, somewhat amused. "Ah, good old Mom," he muttered, smiling. Then he grabbed the wooden chair at his desk and dragged it over to where I was sitting. He sat in the chair, directly across from me. "You know that she's just looking out for you, Nessie," he told me. "We'll move again in a few years, and then you'll be _more_ than ready for something a bit more challenging." He leaned forward, pressing his elbows on his knees as he tried to peer into my downcast expression. "Right?" he asked with a small smile.

I couldn't help but smile in response. "I guess," I muttered, looking back up. I sucked in a gasp of air, noticing just how close Jake had been to me. He seemed to realize it at the same time, because the minute I leaned back on the bed, supporting my weight on my hands, he lifted his elbows off of his knees and pressed himself as far back into the chair as was possible.

"_No one_ is in any of my classes!" I complained again, trying to break the awkward moment that I had created between Jake and me. "Alice is the only one in my grade," I protested. "And half of her classes are more advanced than mine!"

Jake shrugged. "Maybe you'll make some friends?" he suggested.

I rolled my eyes. "_Right_," I said with a soft laugh. "Because I know there's going to be a ton of girls who would love to spend the night here when the only people that sleep in this house are you and me."

Jake smiled at the thought. I was sure he was also imagining what the people from my school would think if they knew what sort of diet _I_ was on.

"Well, why don't you take a couple of books to school with you?" Jake asked. "You know, to keep you entertained during class if it gets too boring."

I shook my head. "I've read the entire library at home, already. There's nothing new."

"How about we go and buy some new ones?" He started to stand. "We could go right now, if you want."

Again, I refused, but smiled at his enthusiasm. "No, that's alright."

Jake slowly sat back down in his chair, running a hand through his hair as he let out a slow sigh. Then he smirked. "I could always challenge your dad to a fight so he'll put you in better classes," he said with a chuckle. "You know I used to hate Edward before you were born," he told me with a wistful sigh. "We never got to fight one-on-one like we always wanted to – your mother wouldn't let us…"

I grinned. "Well, as much as I'm sure that would be a ton of fun for you and everything – I don't think that'll work," I finished with a laugh.

Jake's eyes seemed to light up as I started to laugh.

"They probably won't do anything about it," I said, resigning to my fate. "I'm already registered in those classes, so I doubt they'll change them _now_. Besides," I added softly, "I think they want me to meet someone – you know?"

Jake blinked, staring down at his hands. He glanced back up. "What?" he asked in a soft voice.

I shrugged. "You _know_," I said, lowering my voice as if it were a secret. I held a hand up to his face, showing him thoughts of Alice and Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett, Carlisle and Esme, and finally my parents. "_Someone_."

"Oh." Jake cleared his throat, returning to stare at his hands. "Meeting someone – as in having – _feelings_ for them." He swallowed, unmoving. "Romantic feelings."

I nodded. "Well, they never said anything about it, but I've always wondered if they want me to find someone at school. I mean," I added, "_they_ found each other in biology class, didn't they?"

Jake didn't respond. It was silent for several minutes and I started to panic, wondering if I had said something that I shouldn't have. Then Jake reached across the gap between us and picked up my hand, securing his strong grip around mine.

My heartbeat was already far above average, but I was sure it had picked up with this one gesture.

He slowly glanced up, smiling weakly. "You'll be fine," he assured me. "Don't worry about school or – or anything _else_," he said, squeezing my hand. "Don't worry about what you _think_ your parents want or about how boring your classes are or – _anything_. I promise, everything will be better tomorrow," he assured me. "And by next year, you won't even remember how upset you were on your first day of school."

I took in his words, finding it hard to disagree with anything that Jake said. "You're probably right," I muttered, allowing a small smile to grace my lips.

Jake shrugged, appearing high-and-mighty. "As I always am," he said, unable to hide his chuckle. I giggled along with him.

My laughter died away as he lifted our hands so that they were pressed against each other, palm to palm, and he laced his fingers through mine. Then I looked back up into his caring expression.

"Thank you, Jake."

* * *

The following day at school was hardly any better than the first day. I had gone to class far earlier than I needed to, hoping that someone might show up just as early as I had and feel obligated to strike up a conversation with me. I was right in my assumption that someone else would show up just as early; a tiny girl with her arms full of heavy books stumbled into the classroom fifteen minutes before the bell rang.

I initiated the conversation, waving as I called, "Hello," to the small girl.

The girl was either surprised by my presence or by the fact that I was speaking to her in general. She whipped her head around so fast that her entire body followed suit. The books piled up in her arms, however, spilled forward, falling to the floor in a haphazard pile.

"Oh, let me help you," I offered, springing out of my chair. I was at her side within seconds, kneeling beside her as I helped lift the many books into her arms once again.

"Um… Thanks." She stared at me, watching me with wide, anxious eyes, but quickly tore her gaze away when I looked back.

Her anxiety seemed out of place – she looked _incredibly_ nervous. I was just trying to be nice – did I do something that I shouldn't have?

My hand was halfway to her face, about to share my thoughts of her anxiety with her, but I quickly stopped myself, ashamed by my actions.

_You can't do that_, I scolded myself. _She doesn't know about vampires and werewolves – and vampire hybrids_, I thought, tagging the last species onto the end as I remembered myself.

I was incredibly frustrated with myself, watching with disappointment as the girl hurried across the classroom to sit as far away from me as she could. It was just such an automatic reaction to share my thoughts with others – I would have to be so much more careful than normal.

I returned to my seat, more upset with my actions than I probably should have been. This school thing just wasn't for me, I realized. I could learn so much faster on my own. I could just take these textbooks home with me and read them within weeks and be more prepared than half of the class.

I was focused on this idea. While I was in the process of forming an argument to suggest this idea to my parents after school today, a group of classmates walked into the room together, talking animatedly with each other.

They walked to the back of the room and I felt my mood lift as I realized I would get a second chance to make friends. I sat up in my chair and leaned forward on my desk, smiling at a muscular boy as he walked past. He nodded his head in greeting and turned back to the girl at his side, grinning at something she said. Then he sat in the desk beside me and proceeded to turn his back to me as he continued his conversation.

I slumped down in my seat, depressed yet again. I stared down at my arm with a glum look as I wondered just how hard I would have to thrust a pair of scissors into my wrist just to break the skin – anything to get me out of this class. But, I instantly realized, there was no way the scissors would come close to harming me. In fact, the only thing that would be ruined in that scenario would be the scissors.

I watched in silence as the rest of the class shuffled in and took their seats. I didn't even bother smiling at any of them anymore. It wasn't worth it. I would just have to suffer through my torture alone.

The bell rang, signaling the start of class, and the teacher walked through the door with a couple of students dragging behind him. The teacher, however, ignored their tardiness and quickly started into the lesson.

"Ah – good morning, class," he greeted us as if he hadn't seen us when he first walked into the room. He peered over his reading glasses, squinting at the room to count the number of bodies in chairs. He seemed to get the correct number of students in the room, because he didn't waste time calling the roll.

"I understand it's only the second day of classes, but I figured it would be a bit more useful if we just start right in on the fundamentals of algebra instead of wasting our time on ridiculous get-to-know-you games…" His voice trailed off as he stuffed his nose into our math textbook, studying the first chapter. He turned to the chalkboard, snatching up a piece of chalk, and lifted it to the black surface. Just as he was about to scratch a problem onto the board, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Oh, um – yes? Come in!" the teacher stammered, surprised by the interruption. Judging by his startled expression, I was sure this sort of thing didn't happen very often in his class.

The teacher stepped forward, opening the classroom door. Then he froze in his place.

"Yeah, hi – uh, it's my first day here," the man on the other side of the door explained.

I recognized the voice – I couldn't have _missed_ it! I sat straight up in my desk, inches from toppling off of my chair in anticipation of seeing the visitor. I _knew_ who it was – who it _had_ to be…

I stared in disbelief as Jacob Black – _my best friend_ – ducked his head beneath the door frame and entered the room with a too-small backpack over his shoulder.

He silently handed our surprised teacher a small sheet of paper. Jake smiled as the short man jumped out of his stunned silence. He quickly reached out to snatch the slip of paper from Jake's hand, staring at it in disbelief. Then he craned his neck back, squinting up at Jake.

"Freshman?" he verified, studying Jake's abnormal height and muscular build. "You're a _freshman_?"

Jake nodded in confirmation. Then he leaned in, lowering his voice, but the entire class could still hear his words. "I was held back a few years."

The teacher's mouth formed an "o" shape as he slowly lowered the paper in his hand down to his side. Then he nodded and pointed to the back of the room. "Go ahead and grab a seat, then," he said. "Anywhere is fine."

I watched silently as Jake made his way down one of the aisles, not meeting my eyes. And then I realized, with a jolt of excitement, that he was headed for the empty desk beside me.

I stared – along with half of the class – as Jake squeezed into the desk. I heard a slight cracking as he tried to force his knees beneath the small space, but he quickly gave up and stretched his legs straight out in front of him.

By now, the teacher had started to talk, easily falling back into his normal routine, but I was unable to pay attention. I was too busy watching Jake as he dug around in the backpack at his feet. He seemed to find what it was that he was looking for. He sat back up in his desk, setting a spiral notebook and a pen on his desk.

Then he turned to me with a surprised expression, as if spotting me for the first time.

"Hey," he softly greeted me with a grin and a wink. "I'm Jake – I'm new here." He extended his hand across the aisle between us.

I bit deep into my lower lip, trying to keep my smile from covering my entire face. But I quickly reached out my hand, playing along with the charade. "I'm Renesmee," I whispered. "But _you_ can call me Nessie."

"Nessie," he repeated. "Sounds like a great nickname."

I giggled. A few of people in my class spun around at the noise, noticing that Jake and I were on good terms. I quickly ignored their inquisitive stares, turning back to my best friend.

When I returned, Jake was staring straight ahead at the front of the classroom and holding out a piece of paper to me.

I grabbed it and eagerly read the words that he had scrawled.

_You'll get in trouble if you keep laughing all the time_, it said. _And I don't want you getting in trouble on the second day of school._

I smiled. I quickly dug around in my bag and found a pencil. I scribbled back a quick note just beneath his.

_You'd probably feel pretty guilty getting me in trouble, huh?_

It didn't take long for his response.

_I wouldn't feel guilty about getting you in trouble – just worried that your dad might rip my head off when he finds out it was my fault._

I laughed aloud once more, but the teacher never diverted from his lesson plan. The direction of the other students' gazes, however, was a different story.

After writing a few more notes, playing a couple of tic-tac-toe games, and trying to avoid classmates' stares, the bell rang for the end of class.

"Oh, uh…" The teacher pulled his gaze away from the board, looking as if he had been rudely woken up from a good dream. He squinted up at the clock on the wall to verify the time, probably surprised that it had flown by so quickly while he had been droning on about different equations. "Well, your homework is on the board," he mumbled, pointing to the corner of the chalkboard as he gathered up his belongings. "I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

The class started to put their things back into their backpacks. I followed suit, but was unable to get rid of the ridiculous grin covering my face.

"Ah, well," Jake muttered as he managed to climb out of his cramped desk. "This whole school thing was about as painful as I remembered."

I laughed. "But it's fifty times better, since you got here," he told him.

He winked. "Everything's better when I'm here," he pointed out with a cocky grin.

"Oh, _sure_," I said in a sarcastic tone, shaking my head. We were the last ones left in the classroom – even the teacher had slipped out before Jake and I had a chance to leave. I turned towards the exit, but Jake's voice stopped me in my steps.

"You don't by chance happen to know where room one-fifty-two is, do you?" he asked, holding up his list of scheduled classes. "Because it says, here, that my next class is French."

I froze, unable to believe my luck. I ran back to Jake's desk and – literally – ripped the schedule from his hands. It tore in two, straight down the middle, but I could have cared less.

I analyzed my half of his schedule. Yes – I was right! He was going to the same class as me! In fact, _every_ class was with me! _Every single one!_

I stared up at Jake with a dropped jaw, but he merely smiled back at me.

"I _heard_," he started in a whisper, stepping closer, "that there's this girl in a few of my classes – maybe you know her," he said. His smile widened. "She's got curly, red hair, she's _incredibly_ smart – and I'm pretty sure her skin sparkles in the sun."

I was speechless – there were no words to explain just how happy I was. Jake had, yet again, surprised me more than I could have ever dreamed possible.

And then, before I could think clearly, I dropped the ripped schedule onto the floor, letting it float to the ground, and pressed myself into Jake's chest. I lifted one hand to his shoulder and the other to his neck. He seemed to be waiting for me to send him one of my thoughts through my fingers.

And that was probably why he looked so surprised when, instead, I pulled him towards me and kissed him.

It was nothing I had ever experienced before. It was absolutely nothing like kissing a family member – and I knew, from the moment that my lips touched his, that he was no longer considered a family member in my mind. He wasn't just a best friend anymore. I was in _love_ with Jacob Black.

It took a few minutes for Jake to realize what I had done. He seemed frozen in place, startled by my surprising action. His arms were locked at his side and he didn't make any sudden movements, but it didn't take too long for him to react.

Soon, I felt two warm hands slowly reach out and touch my waist. At first, all I could feel was the tips of his fingers, pressing lightly against my hips. It was a gentle, cautious touch, something I could just barely feel through the fabric of my shirt, and then the grip seemed to tighten. I was worried for one instant that when he put his warm hands on my waist, he was going to try to push me away. I quickly looped my arms even tighter around his neck, hoping it might be more of a struggle for him to pull me off. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that his hands weren't trying to push me away but were, in fact, pulling me _closer_.

Shivers ran down my spine at his touch. His hands on my hips, my body pressed up against his – nothing could have been more perfect. It was simply pure bliss.

Jake had to break off the kiss. I was sure I never would have stopped if he hadn't have pulled away first. But, I noticed with a hint of excitement bubbling up in my chest, he never removed his hands from my waist.

"Well," he whispered, taking in short, shallow breaths of air. Then he chuckled nervously. "I never expected _that_ sort of a thank you."

I felt suddenly embarrassed all of a sudden, dropping my chin to my chest. He wasn't expecting "_that_ sort of a thank you." Did that mean he hadn't _wanted_ me to kiss him? Did he not feel the same way about me? Had I just ruined our friendship?

My worries were cut short when Jake shuffled even closer than he had been before, his chest pressing firmly against mine. He kissed my forehead and touched a hand to my chin, gently tilting my head up to lock gazes with his. There were no more than a few inches between our faces.

My breathing was staggered as I found it hard to do such a simple task. There was so much I wanted to say to him, but I couldn't find the words. And even if I _did_ find the words, there was no way I would have been able to say them without my voice cracking.

I lifted my hand, gently cupping his cheek. He seemed to lean into my touch, closing his eyes, and then I opened my mind to send him a message.

It was a replay of what had just happened – me kissing Jake. But that wasn't what I wanted him to see. It was the emotions in the memory – I wanted him to know what I had felt.

Once my thoughts had finished, he gasped and his eyes flashed open. They were wide and searching, as if begging to hear more.

Then he placed his own hand over the one that I had put on his cheek, and whispered.

"I love you, too."

My heart swelled, expanding exponentially. It was unbelievable what those simple words could do to a girl when they came from the right person.

I leaned in to kiss him again.

* * *

**Author's Note: I was a little unsure as to how I should approach Renesmee's character, but I hope I got it pretty close - let me know what you think of how I personified her character and what I should do to improve!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Yours truly,  
Amelia Bedelia**


	2. Homework Help

**Author's Note: Wow, guys! I got SUCH an overwhelming amount of positive feedback on Boredom - I just couldn't help it... I had to make a sequel. :D So this is now a two-shot...? Anyway - it's a tad bit different than the first one, but still focused around Renesmee and Jacob.**

**Also - thanks to JillMarie724 for giving me a little bit of inspiration for the start of this one-shot! I wasn't originally planning on having this first section, but she gave me the idea...**

**Enjoy!**

**Homework Help**

_Love? But that's impossible. How could she _love_ him? Already? She just reached maturity!_

I smoothly navigated the halls of my new high school with my hand locked tight within my wife's grip. I easily dodged a group of giggling girls, all pointing at Emmett as he walked past. Of course, the moment Bella and I swerved around them, all of their thoughts instantly changed direction and started to focus on me.

_Oh, he's so gorgeous!_

_There's no way he could still be single – not with a body like that…_

_Dammit! He's holding that girl's hand – maybe they're just close siblings?_

But none of these thoughts were the ones I wanted to hear. I stared at the ground as we walked, trying to focus on the correct voice that I had heard before.

There – there it was. Renesmee. And – I cringed – _Jacob_.

_I can't believe she kissed me. She _kissed _me. I didn't see _that_ one coming…_

_He _loves_ me? I'm not making this up, am I? Oh, god, I think he's going to kiss me again._

I growled at these thoughts, unable to hold myself back. Bella turned to look at me with a worried expression.

"Edward," she whispered. Her words were inaudible to those around us, but I could easily make out what she was trying to say. "Edward, what is it? Why are you so upset?"

I took in a deep breath – one that I didn't need – and let it out in a slow exhale, forcing myself to put on a fake smile for Bella's benefit.

"Nothing's wrong," I told her. I leaned over and kissed her cheek, earning a few looks from the students around us. She smiled and I could almost imagine the blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"I don't believe you," she muttered, stopping at her locker. She turned the lock, entering the correct combination, and opened the door as I leaned casually up against the lockers beside her.

"It's nothing," I lied to her. "I just thought I heard something that I shouldn't have."

She paused with her hand inside her locker and lifted an eyebrow. "I think you were a better liar before you changed me, Edward."

I smirked, unable to argue with this point. She had grown much more astute than she had ever been as a human. I couldn't deny that fact.

"It's fine, Bella," I assured her once more. And then – lying once again – I looked down at my books and groaned. "I think I left my binder in our last class," I told her. "I better go get it."

She didn't turn away from her locker as she spoke. "I didn't realize you had a binder for gym."

I chuckled, glancing down at my wife. "I'll be right back, alright? Just don't worry about it."

Bella turned and slammed her locker closed, making the entire row of lockers shake. "You're not going to tell me what's going on, are you?"

I confirmed her suspicions with a short, "No. You'll thank me later."

Bella laughed, her voice ringing in the hallway. "I'm sure I will."

I squeezed her hand one last time before speeding in the opposite direction.

I automatically tuned my thoughts back to those familiar voices once more.

_Now we can spend every day _all_ day together! I can't believe he would go to these lengths just to make me happy! God, he's so wonderful…_

My hands clenched into a fist at my sides. What the _hell_ did Jacob do to make my daughter – _my_ daughter – so insanely _happy_?

Their thoughts seemed to grow stronger as I got closer.

_I probably shouldn't be kissing her all day – someone could just walk in on us. Word might get around to – oh, god, I don't think I'll ever be able leave this room if she keeps doing that… I just – wait, that smell – oh, shit, Edward –_

The minute I rounded the corner and stuck my head into the small classroom, I caught Jake with his hands gripping onto Renesmee's shoulders, pushing her out at arm's length and staring at me with wide-eyed shock.

"Uh – hey, there, buddy," Jake stammered, turning beat red. He dropped his arms, stuffing them into his pockets, and stared down at his old tennis shoes.

"Good morning, Jacob," I greeted him with a kind voice. _Let him squirm_, I thought. I had to say, even after all of our years _without_ conflicts with each other, I still had somewhat of a guilty pleasure at watching Jacob Black – the _alpha wolf_ – fidget nervously under my glare. _Let him suffer_.

"Hey, Dad," Renesmee said quietly, waving at me from across the, otherwise empty, classroom. I could tell her cheeks were a little pinker than usual, as were her lips, but she didn't appear embarrassed by my interruption like Jake had been. "Look who's here."

"Yes, _look_ who's here," I repeated, leaning up against the doorframe as my eyes locked on Jake. He shifted uncomfortably, looking anywhere but at my face. "What an odd coincidence," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "Jacob Black is in the same school as my daughter."

"Uh, actually…" Jake finally glanced up into my expression. He seemed to flinch, though I didn't give him anything to flinch about – _yet_. "I enrolled as Jacob _Wolfe_," he softly corrected me.

"You _enrolled_?" I verified, lifting my eyebrows in surprise. Their thoughts from earlier seemed to make sense, now. This was why Renesmee would be able to spend all day with him. "You're taking classes here, now?"

Jake nodded, glancing once over at Renesmee and back to his feet.

A smile appeared on my lips, but it had nothing to do with my emotions at the moment. I was far from happy. "When we asked if you wanted to go to school with the rest of our family, I _thought_ – unless I heard you incorrectly – your response was, 'no way in hell'."

Jake chuckled lightly, keeping his gaze locked on the ground. "I, uh… guess I changed my mind," he supplied with a weak shrug.

Renesmee turned to me with an excited expression. "He's in all of my classes!" she told me, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "Just because I told him I was bored at school!"

Jake blushed more than I had ever seen a human blush. Except Bella. She was always the exception.

I listened for his thoughts, amused when I heard a frantic, _NO, don't tell him THAT! Christ, he already knows I kissed you! Don't give him more reasons for wanting to keep me away from you…_

"Well, Jake, how _kind_ of you," I told him with a forced smile. Then I stepped away from the door and nodded towards the pair. "I guess we'll see you both at lunch, then."

Jake's face went from bright red to paler than a vampire in no less than three seconds. That was when I heard his thoughts calling out to me rather than letting me seek them out.

_Don't tell Bella_, he begged me. _Please, Edward – I'll tell her later, just – don't tell her yet. Not now._

A slow smile crawled onto my face; it was the only acknowledgment that I had heard Jake's thoughts.

He looked like he was about to hurl.

"See you at lunch, Dad!" Renesmee called as I left the room.

I just grinned in return.

* * *

My leg bounced nervously beneath my desk, crashing into the metal bar on the side every so often. It never hurt, of course. It took a lot more than a little bump like _that_ to inflict any sort of pain on a werewolf.

But what _did_ terrify me was the fact that lunch – and Renesmee's _mom_ – was about thirty seconds away.

I was dead.

I willed the clocks to slow, to stop – _anything_, but they seemed to move even faster than normal. And – with a gut wrenching feeling in the pit of my stomach, I hesitantly climbed to my feet at the sound of the bell.

"Are you hungry?" Renesmee asked, smiling brightly.

I couldn't help it. The butterflies seemed to disappear once she smiled at me. But I was all too quickly reminded of who would be _at_ lunch, and I quickly lost my appetite again. "Not really," I muttered.

I felt a small hand slip into my grip. I glanced down at my side and realized that Renesmee had wrapped her fingers through mine. I smiled involuntarily at the contact and started to swing our hands back and forth between us, brushing the upper part of our legs in the process.

"How about you take me on a tour of the school?" I suggested once we stepped out of the classroom, looking for any way to escape lunch with her family – with her _parents_. "I haven't really seen much of it, yet."

Renesmee shrugged. "It's only my second day," she said with a laugh. "I don't know where everything is, yet."

I chewed on the inside of my mouth as I thought of another idea. "Well, how about we go out for lunch? I bet there's a fast food joint down the road."

"Freshmen can't leave for lunch," she pointed out. Then she frowned. She seemed to slide even closer to me than she had been before, tilting her lips up to whisper in my ear. "What's the matter, Jake?" she asked with a small frown.

I shook my head, trying to ignore the pleasant tingling sensation that lingered on the back of my neck. "Nothing," I told her just a bit faster than I should have.

She continued looking up at me as we walked through the crowded hallways. Then she placed a small kiss on my cheek.

My entire body seemed to freeze at the touch of her lips against my face. I had to force myself to continue walking so I didn't accidentally cause a train wreck in the hallway.

_No one saw that, did they?_ I asked myself, frantically peering over my shoulder for any sign of her vampire family. I could vividly imagine the worst case scenario playing in my head – Edward, Emmett, and Jasper all standing directly behind me with their hands clenched into fists, growling. I let out a soft sigh of relief, realizing just how close of a call that could have been.

_I can't take any chances._ I realized._ I saw Edward's expression before – he looked ready to murder me. He'll ban me from seeing her – he'll kick me out of the house._ I swallowed, looking down at Renesmee as we walked. _If it means just being her friend – nothing more – then I'll do whatever it takes to stay with her._

I quickly released Renesmee's hand and pretended to reach up to readjust the strap on my backpack. When I didn't go to wrap my fingers around hers once again, I caught a glimpse of the look on her face out of the corner of my eye and I prayed that I misread the disappointed expression.

We entered the cafeteria in silence. I noticed half of the room turn their heads to stare up at me. Their chatter died down the instant Renesmee and I walked through the doors and headed over to the table with the rest of her family.

Renesmee eagerly slid into one of the chairs beside Alice, grinning across the table at her mother as she did so.

"Look, Mom," she said, tugging on the sleeve of my t-shirt. I hesitantly sat down at the table beside Renesmee, putting on an uneasy smile as I tried to decipher Bella's blank expression. Did Edward tell her? "Jake's here!"

"I know," she said. "Edward told me."

I tried to keep my smile in place as I glanced nervously back and forth between Edward and Bella. _You didn't – did you_? I tried to ask him.

He didn't give any sign of hearing my thoughts. Instead, he just put on a smug smile.

"That was so nice of you to join her classes, Jake," Bella said, reaching across the table to pat my arm. By now, I had become used to the feeling of her icy cold skin against mine. If you listened close enough, I was convinced you could hear a soft sizzling sound when our skin touched.

"Yeah, no problem," I mumbled. _He didn't tell her_, I realized. A heavy burden lifted off of my chest. _She would have attacked me by now if she knew that Renesmee and I had kissed…_ "She said she was bored – so I thought I'd help out."

Renesmee turned to look over at me and grinned, creating matching dimples in each of her cheeks. My heart skipped a beat, just staring down at her beautiful smile, but all too soon, I noticed Edward's stony gaze. I quickly diverted my eyes, staring down at the empty space on the table in front of me.

_Don't give him a reason to keep me away from her_, I thought, hoping that I was being subtle as I leaned away from Renesmee. _Act like nothing happened._

"Where's your food?" Emmett asked from the end of the table, leaning forward in front of Jasper. Then he cracked a grin. "You normally eat more than all of us combined."

He wasn't joking – he was being completely serious. All six of the vampires didn't actually _eat_ anything at lunch. The trays of food in front of them were merely props to make them appear as normal as everyone else in the lunchroom. Renesmee would occasionally eat food even though she hated the taste of it, but it was just a small amount at school to keep up the charade. I, on the other hand, normally ate enough for three fully grown men.

"Not hungry," I mumbled. I caught Bella's confused stare and Emmett's shocked expression, but tried to brush it off. "Must be first-day-of-school jitters or something…" I trailed off.

"Oh," Renesmee said, biting her lip. She put a concerned hand on my elbow, gripping it tight within her grasp. "But what do you have to be nervous about?" she asked. Her fingers slid down my forearm and slipped into my hand. "I'm in all of your classes, remember?"

I nodded, unable to come up with a good response when I could feel the entire table staring at our interlocked fingers. Instead, I chose the easy way out. "Yeah, I'm not feeling so good – I'm just going to step outside for a bit of fresh air before class starts."

I was already standing up from my chair and pulling my hand away when Renesmee asked, "Do you want me to come with you?" She tried to tug back on my fingers and stand with me. "You know, to keep you company?"

"_No_!" I shouted. The entire table of vampires straightened up in their seats and turned to look at me, startled by my outburst. "I mean – no, you just stay here," I corrected myself. I took advantage of Renesmee's surprise by yanking my hand out of hers and quickly backing away several paces so that I was out of her reach. "I'll see you before class," I added softly, walking away from their table.

And as I left the room, I felt a pair of brown eyes on my back, making me feel guiltier than ever.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by rather uneventfully. Alice had a few of her afternoon classes with Renesmee and I. They seemed to chat consistently throughout all of their classes, leaving me out of the loop. But it wasn't as if I had really made that much of an effort to join their conversations. Every few minutes, Alice would direct a question towards me, but I always gave simple one-word answers.

By the end of the day, however, it dawned on me that Alice was the only one that had been making the effort to include me in their conversations. Renesmee hadn't said a single word to me since lunch.

Our last class ended and all of the students quickly exited the room, eager to leave for the day. Alice was no exception to this rule. She had all of her belongings packed together even before the bell had rung.

"Come _on_," she moaned, impatiently tapping her foot when Renesmee and I took our own, sweet time. "Sometime _today_?"

"We're coming, Alice," Renesmee grumbled, zipping her bag closed. Then she walked straight to the door without turning to see if I was following.

I tried to swallow the large lump in my throat, dragging my feet as I trailed silently along behind Alice.

To say that our walk to the parking lot wasn't awkward would have been a complete and total lie.

At first, I had tried to stand beside Renesmee – Edward couldn't get upset with me for simply walking beside her – but she quickly stopped to drop to one knee, pretending to tie her shoes. When she stood back up, she walked around to Alice's other side, refusing to say anything to me.

I was sure Alice had already noticed the tense air surrounding us, but she did her best not to say anything about it. Instead, she kept up a constant flow of chatter.

"Did you bring one of our cars today, Jake?" she asked when we met up with the rest of their family at the front doors.

I scoffed. "The only choices left in the garage were a Porsche and a Ferrari. _Yeah_," I said with an underlying sarcastic tone. "I don't think that would have gone over very well."

"So you walked?" Jasper asked, jumping into the conversation. He easily fell into stride with us as we walked to the exit.

"Of _course_ he did," Rosalie inserted into the conversation.

I lifted an eyebrow at her. "You don't need to be so rude about it."

Rosalie made a face, baring her teeth. "I'll say whatever I want _whenever_ I want, dog."

"Oh, so we're back to _that_, now, are we?" I asked, feeling my anger flare up inside of me. Rosalie and I hadn't really had any major arguments ever since Renesmee came along. And if I hadn't been riding a roller coaster of emotions all day, we probably wouldn't have gotten to this point once again – but I couldn't resist any longer. "Well, blondie, I've been waiting for this day for quite some time – and I've got some good jokes I've been saving up _just for you_."

Rosalie snarled, stopping at the doors to the exit as she spun around to face me. "Don't start that again," she hissed.

I easily sidestepped her and went to the door on her left. Once we were outside, I cleared my throat and spoke loudly for everyone to hear. "Do you know why the blonde tried to steal a police car?"

Emmett was hot on Rosalie's tail, placing a soothing hand on her shoulder as she attempted – unsuccessfully – to ignore my taunts. I heard Alice chuckle somewhere behind me; clearly she had heard this joke before.

"Because she saw '911' on the back and thought it was a Porsche," I finished with a smirk.

Alice let out a high-pitched giggle. She was probably thrilled that the punch line of my joke was her car.

"Jacob," Bella whispered in my ear. She narrowed her eyes with a meaningful expression – one that I quickly understood.

"Fine, no more jokes," I muttered, stuffing my hands into my pockets.

"Thank you," Bella said, patting me on the back. Then she directed me over to Edward's car, gesturing for me to climb in the back.

I did as I was told, ducking my head and squeezing my long legs into the small space. It wasn't until I had finally found a comfortable position that I realized that Renesmee was sliding into the seat beside me.

My snarky, sarcastic mood quickly subsided and I felt a wave of depression wash over me once more.

"Was today any better?" Bella asked her daughter once we were out of the parking lot and speeding home.

"Part of it," was Renesmee's simple response.

I looked over at her, trying to examine her expression, but she was staring determinedly out of her window.

"Good," Bella said. She looked over her shoulder at me. "How about you, Jake? Is it just like you remembered?"

I shrugged. "I think I forgot some information since school at La Push, but I'll manage."

Bella nodded.

I glanced at the front of the car and caught Edward staring at me in the rearview mirror. I quickly looked away, choosing Renesmee's method of staring out of the window while we drove home.

Renesmee was the first to hop out of the car. The car hadn't even stopped rolling when she flung open the door and leaped out.

I sighed, staring gloomily after her as she stormed into the house.

"Oh, no," Bella moaned, shaking her head. "Something must have happened…"

Bella was the next to run inside, leaving Edward and I alone.

I froze.

Edward and I.

_Alone_.

_Oh, fu –_

Before I had a chance to scramble out of the car, his smooth voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Why don't you sit back and relax, Jacob," he said, pressing a button that made each of the doors lock. "We're going to go for a little ride."

The car peeled out of their driveway and sped down the winding round, headed for who-knows-where.

I started to sweat when I realized just how nervous I was for this conversation that I had been trying to avoid all day long.

"So, you and Renesmee?" Edward said in a casual voice.

I swallowed. "Kind-of," I muttered.

He continued speaking, keeping his voice level and his face indecipherable. "I heard your thoughts," he told me. "I know you kissed her."

"Well – _technically_," I corrected him, hoping he wouldn't put all of the blame on me, "_she_ kissed _me_. I didn't start it."

The speedometer went up, making the engine groan in protest. "Doesn't matter." Edward cut me off. "The fact of the matter is that you've crossed the line."

I frowned. Crossed the line? It was just a kiss! And I _imprinted_ on her – weren't they expecting this? I know I agreed to act like Renesmee and I were just friends – but they _had_ to have seen this coming! I couldn't take this torture anymore…

I took in three deep breaths, balled my hands into a fist, and spoke up.

"Look, Edward," I said, "I know this might not be what you wanted for Renesmee – you probably don't want her with _anyone_ – but I love her," I confessed. "And she loves _me_." Instantly, my mind replayed the entire day, sped up, and I started to feel sick to my stomach. I had successfully ignored Renesmee all day long for Edward's benefit, and look at where that got me. She was probably furious with me, now. "Well, she _did_ love me," I softly corrected myself. "But I'm not going to pretend like nothing happened anymore, Edward," I told him, beginning to defend my actions. "I tried that – but it's not worth it. So," I continued, taking in a shaky breath, "if you're going to kick me out of the house or rip me to shreds, you might as well just do it now rather than dragging it out."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Edward asked, frowning at me in his mirror. I knew he was pausing to listen to my thoughts, but he quickly shook his head and continued speaking. "All I wanted to tell you was that now you're playing a whole different ball game." He turned around in his seat, continuing to drive at high speeds without watching the road. "You're following _our_ rules, now."

I paused, unwilling to believe my luck. He _wasn't_ upset? I could stay with Renesmee? I immediately swallowed and nodded, ready and willing to accept whatever Edward said.

"You will live as if you were brought up with my morals," he told me. "You will always treat her with the kindness and respect she deserves. You will live as if she is the _reason_ for living. You will wait for sex until after marriage."

I checked each of these off on a mental list, finding no problems whatsoever. They all seemed perfectly reasonable and logical.

"The day has come to an end when it's acceptable for her to sleep in your room when she has a nightmare."

I immediately protested this rule, forgetting about keeping silent. "Wait – _that's_ not fair," I interrupted. "I _know_ you snuck into Bella's room when Charlie was asleep every night." I tried to elaborate, hoping to find a way to convince Edward of revoking this rule. "And it's not like you won't _hear_ us – you'll be awake! You'll know what's happening – that is, if anything _does_ happen…" I quickly amended my words once I caught Edward's expression.

He spun around in his seat, letting out a ferocious growl that filled the small space. "My child. _My rules_."

I took in a deep breath, trying to get myself under control. _Fine_, I thought. _I'll follow your stupid rules._

Edward nodded in response to my thoughts. "You will tell Bella about your new relationship."

I scoffed, dropping my head back onto the headrest behind me. "That doesn't sound like a rule. Just a punishment."

I caught Edward's smirk at the mirror. He pulled into an empty parking lot and abruptly turned the wheel of the car, fishtailing as we did a one-eighty. Then he took off in the direction that we had come. "Well, _I_ won't be the one to tell her that her only daughter's innocence is in danger."

I felt my cheeks turn pink at this thought. "I already told you I would talk to Bella," I pointed out in a soft voice.

Edward ignored my comment. "And finally, you will not break her heart."

I blinked, surprised by this rule. It seemed so obvious. I had never dreamt of doing anything like that to Renesmee. She was too precious – too important to ever hurt.

Of course, I realized with a twinge of guilt, I had done today exactly what I had sworn to myself that I would never do. I hurt her.

"That's it?" I asked, finding it hard to believe that it was this simple. "It's – Renesmee and I – if I just follow those rules, then the idea of us – that's _alright_ with you?"

Edward did not speak for a moment. He was still as a statue, staring straight ahead.

"You're the best person for Renesmee," he said after several minutes of silence. "I've always known that this would eventually happen. We've all seen you two grow up together, and you're a perfect match." His gaze dropped to the dashboard as he tried to find the right words to say. "I couldn't have picked anyone better for her."

I found myself smiling. That was it. He accepted it. He was alright with it. With _us_. And to think, I had been worried that he would ban me from ever seeing Renesmee again. I had been pushing her away all day – and it was all my fault. Edward never wanted to split us up. He just wanted me to know how important she was to him.

"Thanks, Edward," I answered. "That really means a lot coming from you."

The sentimental moment disappeared just as quickly as it had arrived. "But keep in mind – I have eyes and ears all over the place. One wrong move and I won't be your only enemy in the house."

I nodded, taking his threat in stride. "I'll try to remember that."

We arrived home, pulling into the driveway once more. This time, however, I managed to climb out of the car with my backpack in tow.

"Just remember what I said," Edward mumbled beneath his breath as we walked inside.

I nodded obediently and stepped through the front door. Bella was sitting on the couch, as if she had been anticipating our return.

She looked up from her book, watching as I shuffled into the room.

"Is Renesmee upstairs?" I asked.

Bella studied my expression for a moment before replying. "No," she said. "She was pretty upset when she got home." She paused, watching as I closed my eyes, dropped my bag on the floor, and lifted my hands to my head. I gripped two fistfuls of hair and tugged, wincing with each movement. "She went for a walk, but said she would be back later."

I nodded, slowly reopening my eyes. "Alright," I said, dropping into the chair next to the couch.

Bella took one glance up at Edward and looked back to me. "Did something happen?" she asked, blinking up at me as she patiently waited for my explanation. "Renesmee wouldn't tell me."

"Uh – yeah, you could say that," I mumbled, leaning my elbows on my knees and burying my head in my hands.

There was silence. I heard the soft movement as Edward went to stand beside Bella, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"We kissed," I finally blurted out. Bella would find out sooner or later, so I might as well just get this over with _now_… "Edward kind-of… _overheard_ our thoughts and found us in Nessie's math class."

I chanced a glance up at Bella and saw her eyes widen in surprise. I could almost predict exactly what she was thinking. She had been prepared for many things – but not this.

"But don't worry," I continued in a gloomy voice. "I was so terrified that Edward was going to kill me that I ignored Renesmee all day – and I'm pretty sure she hates me, now."

Instead of yelling at me like I – and Edward – had assumed she would, Bella spun in her chair and smacked Edward in the arm with her book.

"_Why_ did you do that?" she hissed, putting her hands on her hips and pursing her lips. "We discussed this _years_ ago – we said we would let them be! _Right_?" she growled.

I stared up at Edward with my jaw dropped. He had the decency to look embarrassed.

"It _is_ fine!" he tried to argue back, but it was clear that once Bella got to her feet and Edward took an involuntary step backwards, he was fighting a losing battle. "I was just explaining to Jake that we were alright with the idea of him and Renesmee – _dating_," he choked out. "I didn't do anything wrong!" He paused, staring at Bella. "Why aren't you upset?" he asked in a soft voice.

Bella stomped her foot in frustration. "We agreed not to stand in Jake's way!" Bella growled. "I accepted this whole relationship _thing_ by the time Renesmee was _four_!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands around in the air to make her point.

Edward grabbed her wrists, holding them in place. She let out a quick breath and tried to calm down. "I didn't realize you were so comfortable with the idea of _them_," Edward said, clearly trying to get himself out of the corner that he had accidentally backed into. "I thought you would still be angry, no matter what we agreed!"

"I'm not _angry_," she hissed, staring straight at Edward's chest instead of looking him in the eye. "I _am_, however, annoyed with _you_. How could you just let Jake _suffer_ all day at school? He must have been _terrified_ of what you were going to do to him!" I could tell Bella was speaking as if I was no longer in the room anymore. "The poor boy must have been a nervous _wreck_ – and on his first day of school, at that! Oh, _Edward_," she grumbled, dropping her head onto her husband's shoulder.

Edward sighed, clearly feeling bad about upsetting his wife, but probably not for the agony he put me through today. My guess was that if he had to relive this whole day again, I doubt he would have changed a thing.

"It'll give him a good dose of fear," Edward finally said, trying to defend his actions. He glanced over at me, sending a small glare above Bella's head. "Now he'll think twice before doing something that we may not approve of – _right_?

Bella rolled her eyes. I could tell she wasn't really that upset with Edward to start with. They would be back to normal by tonight. "I'm sorry about him, Jacob," she finally apologized, turning back to me. "He _won't_ do it again," she said, turning to send her husband a look, as if challenging him to argue with her. "And if he does, let me know."

I smiled, finally finding my opening to say something. "It's fine," I muttered, staring at my shoes. "He's just being a dad. It's not his fault."

Edward looked momentarily surprised by my comment. I was sure, after our less-than-kind discussion in the car, that my defending him was probably the last thing in the world that he would have been expecting from me at the moment.

"Thanks," Edward said once he regained his senses.

I shook my head, dragging myself out of the chair and picking up my bag. "Don't mention it," I told him. "Look – I'm just going to go upstairs while I'm waiting for Renesmee to get home."

Bella nodded. "Alright," she said, watching as I trudged up the stairs. I was nearly out of sight when I heard her slap Edward lightly on the arm and whisper, "You're so lucky he forgave you…"

I reached the top floor a bit slower than I normally did. I glanced at the door across from mine, stopping for just a moment to stare, wishing that Renesmee was here, but forced myself to enter my own room.

I weakly closed my door and just stood there, unsure of what to do.

_Television_, I thought, throwing my bag onto my bed. _That's a brainless activity. Good distraction._

I flipped on the screen, flicking quickly through the channels. I had cycled through the whole rotation, disappointed with the selection, when I finally turned the television off and threw the remote control back on the ground.

I remembered the backpack lying on my bed. Slowly, I craned my neck around to look at the bag.

I sighed.

_Might as well_, I reasoned. _The homework won't do itself._

I unzipped my bag and pulled out the first textbook I could find, tossing it onto my desk before I had the chance to talk myself out of doing something I knew I would hate.

It was my math book. I groaned as past grades from my previous math classes back at La Push came to mind.

I sunk into my chair and stared down at the page in front of me, wishing I knew how to read the bizarre symbols on the page. I studied the equations, scratching my head as I read the directions. I started in on the first problem. I had no idea if the answer was right – but I had an answer. I got through the next few problems without too much trouble – at least, it _felt_ like I was doing them right.

Then I found a symbol that I had never even seen before.

"Aw, hell," I muttered, dropping my head into my open book. _This is just ninth grade math!_ I thought, feeling my self esteem diminishing by the second. _You shouldn't be having this much trouble!_

Before I could yell at myself any longer, I heard a door open and close downstairs. My ears perked up, listening intently to the sound of light, but determined footsteps.

_Renesmee_.

I tried to climb out of my chair so quickly that my own feet got tangled up between the legs of the chair and my desk. Slowly, the chair tipped backwards, bringing me down along with it, but I quickly scrambled back onto my feet without waiting to see if I had injured myself in the fall.

I reached my bedroom door and opened it just in time to see Renesmee climb to the top of the third floor landing.

She froze, staring at me.

"Uh – hey, Nessie," I stammered, unable to say much more than that.

My words seemed to shake her out of her stunned state. She swallowed, holding her head high, and ignored me. Then she swiftly walked past and slammed her bedroom door closed behind her.

I stared in disbelief as the full meaning of her silence made itself clear in her absence.

_She hates me_, I realized. My heart was breaking in two. _I thought she might forgive me – but I don't think that's even possible anymore…_

I was seconds away from turning around and heading back to my own room when I stopped.

_But I need to at least try._

Before I lost my courage, I stepped forward and knocked on Renesmee's door.

"Nessie?" I called.

There was no answer.

I knocked again. "Ness?"

"_What_?"

I swallowed when I heard how angry she sounded. "Can I come in?"

"Why?" she asked with the same, flat tone.

For a minute, I thought about telling her the truth. Tell her that I wanted to apologize – but she would just throw it back in my face.

"Um… Homework," I finally said, using the first excuse that came to mind. "I need help with our math assignment."

It was quiet for a moment and I thought she might still turn me away, no matter what excuse I gave her. But finally, she answered.

"Fine."

I could almost feel my heart repairing itself as she spoke. _Fine._ She said _fine_. She would let me in! _She would talk to me again!_

I darted back to my room, grabbing my math book off of my desk, and ran back to her door. With a thudding heart and quickened breathing, I slowly turned the doorknob.

When I walked inside, everything seemed so normal that I was thrown off balance. She was lying on her stomach with her head at the foot of her bed, resting in her hands, and her feet up in the air as she stared at her television.

She slowly turned to face me, watching as I hovered in the doorway. "Well, are you coming in or not?"

I nodded, shaking out of my reverie, and stepped forward after closing the door behind me.

"Hi," I said once I was standing beside Renesmee's bed.

She calmly turned off the television and rolled onto her side, staring up at me with her hand supporting her head. "Which problem are you working on?"

I nervously sat on the side of her bed. I had _never_ been this nervous around her before. Now I was almost shaking from my anxiety.

"This one," I muttered, pointing at an equation halfway down the page.

She looked down at the problem, studying it. "Alright," she said. "It's really simple, actually. All you have to do is – "

"Nessie, I'm _sorry_."

My chest was rising and falling with great breaths at my unexpected outburst. I had been hoping to lead up to my apology a bit more subtly than that. I hadn't been planning on just blurting it out!

Renesmee didn't do anything. She kept her eyes glued to the textbook in front of her. Then I heard a muffled, "Whatever."

I stared, shocked as she continued explaining the math problem, as if nothing had happened. I didn't know what to say, so I spit out a confused, "_What_?"

Renesmee sighed, as if she were frustrated that I hadn't understood her words the first time. "It's fine," she said. She turned away from my math book, catching my eye. "Apology accepted."

Once again, she returned to staring at the textbook. But this time, she didn't try to explain the problem anymore. She remained silent.

I watched in horror as a small tear drop fell onto the book.

"_Nessie_," I whispered. I was afraid to speak any louder for fear of my voice cracking. I put a hand on her shoulder, urging her to roll over so that I could see her face.

She didn't put up much of a fight. With a small sob, Renesmee rolled onto her back, staring straight up at me with tears in her eyes.

"Ness, don't cry," I pleaded, reaching one hand up to her forehead. I frantically brushed her hair away from her face in quick, fast strokes, gently cupping her cheek in the process. My other hand tried to wipe away the tears before they could fall. "Nessie, _please_ – don't cry."

She couldn't control her tears any longer. They seemed to be unstoppable once they started. I could feel her sobs through the mattress of her bed. She lifted her hands to her face, probably trying to hide her expression, but I calmly put my hands over hers and pulled them away, pressing them into the mattress just above her head.

"You didn't – have to – _lie_," she sobbed, taking in shuddering breaths between her words.

"What? Nessie, I never lied to you," I whispered, leaning in close to her face so that our voices were as hushed as possible. I knew Edward could hear our thoughts, but that didn't mean I couldn't at least _try_ to keep part of my life private from the rest of the house.

"Then _why_ did you tell me that you _loved_ me?" she screeched, allowing her voice to fill the entire room and carry down the hallway. "Just because I kissed you – and _I_ said the words first – " She stopped crying long enough to suck in a deep breath. "That _doesn't_ mean you have to pretend to feel the same way! I would have understood if you didn't…"

"Nessie, I never lied to you," I told her in an urgent whisper, begging her to believe me. "I wasn't pretending – "

"_Stop_ it!" She started to sob again. "I could have handled it – all you had to do was tell me you didn't feel the same way!" She started to writhe in my grip, attempting to pull her wrists free of the tight hold I had on them.

"No – Nessie, _no_," I whispered, leaning down to kiss her forehead. She continued crying, but her efforts to break free slowly weakened until she wasn't fighting against me anymore. I moved down her face, kissing each of her tears as they rolled down her cheek, kissing the tracks they left behind, kissing the corners of her eyes before she could release anymore.

Before long, I noticed that her tears had stopped. I pulled away, just far enough to see her lying motionless on the bed with her eyes closed. She seemed to have sensed that I moved away, because her eyes flew open in surprise, staring up at me.

Without giving her a chance to say anything else, I lowered my face to hers once more, continuing to maintain eye contact. I remained like that for a moment, running my nose along her high cheek bones, and then placed a soft kiss on her cheek. I took my time, breathing steadily as my lips dragged against her skin and stopped at her jaw. I heard her heart begin to thud even faster than it normally did. My own started to pick up pace when I realized that _I_ was the one having this effect on her.

She took in one final gasp of air, and that breath seemed to make all of my patience disappear into thin air. I couldn't stand it any longer.

I pressed my lips to hers.

It was like I couldn't control myself. Before I had time to process what I was doing, I crawled on top of her, unable to maintain an appropriate distance. I pressed my leg between hers, and slowly lowered myself onto her body. Though I was terrified that I might be putting too much of my weight on her, I didn't feel close enough. It was as if I was willing our two bodies to meld together – to become one.

I immediately stopped.

_Too much_, I told myself, reluctantly breaking off the kiss. _This is way too far – I should have _never_ done that…_

I stared down into her face, gasping for air as she looked straight back up at me with the same, shocked expression.

I slowly removed my hands from her wrists, watching as the blood rushed back to her fingers. I realized that I had unintentionally locked them above her head, like a pair of manacles. If she had been trying to break free, I doubt I would have even felt her attempts to escape my grasp.

I had never felt guiltier about anything than I did at that moment.

"Erm – sorry," I mumbled, staring at the blankets covering her bed – looking anywhere but at her. "I didn't mean to, uh… get so carried away…" I swallowed, trying to keep a tight lid on my haywire emotions. "I'll just, uh… Yeah."

I put my hands on each side of her and pushed away, supporting myself above her. I was about to climb off when I watched – stunned beyond belief – as she reached her hands up to my shirt and tugged on the collar, pulling me back down.

I caught her soft whisper just before she lifted her face to meet my lips halfway. "Don't stop now."

I was all too glad to continue kissing her. I couldn't _stop_. It was like an addiction – a _wonderful_ addiction – that I couldn't get enough of. It only made it that much more enjoyable when her hands brushed over my sides and slid across my back. I felt her fingernails through my shirt, raking against my skin.

I broke away from Renesmee's lips and took a moment to catch my breath. I felt a shudder rise up within me and ripple throughout my entire body, quaking from her touch. When I turned to look back down at Renesmee again, she seemed concerned.

"You're not going to phase, are you?"

I couldn't help the slight chuckle as it escaped my lips. I dropped my head onto her shoulder, smiling as I breathed in her sweet, familiar scent. "No," I whispered, kissing the bare skin just above her collarbone. "My little moment of weakness had nothing to do with being a werewolf."

I heard Renesmee's smile as she spoke. "I did that to you?" She sounded very pleased with herself. "That was all me?" she asked, grinning.

"Yeah," I answered with a smirk of my own. _You have more power over me than you realize…_

Renesmee nodded and then cleared her throat. "So, um…" I lifted myself up onto my arms, staring down at her. She seemed embarrassed. "You don't hate me," she stated, as if it were a fact.

I nearly started laughing. "No, I don't hate you."

Renesmee smiled. She lifted a hand, touching a small lock of hair that had fallen into my eyes, and brushed it away. And then, biting her lip – the very mannerism that only Bella's daughter could ever master – she asked, "You love me?"

I answered her with a soft kiss. "Always have. Always will."

She sighed at these words. Her eyes sparkled with new tears, but they were there for an entirely different reason, I hoped. Then her expression faltered. "So what happened today? Why did you ignore me?"

"Ah…" I groaned and rolled to the side so that I was lying directly beside her. My head landed on my math book, but I quickly threw that on the floor without a second thought. "Because I was being stupid."

Renesmee turned so that she was facing me. She lifted her hand and took mine, pulling it close to her chest. She held it directly over her heart, listening patiently as I told my story.

"I was terrified when your father caught us," I told her truthfully. "I thought the best thing to do was act like nothing happened so he wouldn't have a reason to keep us apart – and _clearly_ that was the wrong way to go."

Renesmee rolled her eyes. "You were scared of my _dad_?" she asked in disbelief. She threw her head back and laughed openly, sounding more carefree than she had in days. I couldn't have loved her more than at that moment. "But he's such a big _softy_!"

"Yeah, to his _daughter_!" I pointed out. I couldn't keep the goofy grin off of my face. "He's not so nice with his daughter's _boyfriend_."

"He's not?" she asked with an amused expression. "Did he threaten to beat you up?"

I shrugged. "Not in so many words. But the intent was still there."

"So he _did _talk to you?" Renesmee smiled. "What did he say?" she asked with a mischievous grin on her face.

I reached out to touch Renesmee's face, gently stroking my thumb across her lips. "Oh, you know," I told her. "Dad stuff."

"Like _what_?" she asked, far more curious than I ever imagined she would be.

"Well," I started with a soft sigh. "For one, he said I wasn't allowed to break your heart – which I have no intentions of doing, whatsoever," I quickly assured her. She smiled in response. "He also said we weren't allowed to sleep in the same bed." I glanced down at the mattress beneath us. "But I think we might be on the verge of breaking that rule, already."

She giggled.

"But he didn't say _much_ about physical contact," I murmured, staring into Renesmee's sparkling, brown eyes.

"_Good_," Renesmee whispered. She pulled my hand away from her heart and pressed it to her cheek. "Because that's one rule that I would be more than willing to break."

I grinned. "Oh, really?"

Renesmee smirked, leaning forward. "Definitely."

* * *

"Edward?"

I blinked, breaking out of my intense concentration, and glanced over at the other end of the couch where my wife was curled up into a ball, reading a book. She lowered her book and watched me with a questioning stare.

"Yes?" I asked, focusing my attention on her.

"What are you doing?"

I looked back at the place where I had been staring and pointed at the glowing television screen. "Watching TV."

Bella grabbed the remote on the couch in between us and flicked it off. "What were you watching?" she asked.

I frowned, puzzled. "Football," I finally answered, remembering a brief moment when I had been paying attention enough to witness a field goal.

She pursed her lips. "What was the score?"

I blinked. What _was_ the score? I didn't remember anything other than that field goal…

Before I could answer, Bella spoke up. "Stop spying on them."

"_Spying_?" I repeated, sounding hurt that my own wife would accuse me of such a thing. "I'm not spying on _anyone_, Bella…"

"Let them have their privacy," she told me, refusing to believe that I was innocent. She knew me too well. "Jacob and Renesmee need a moment alone, and I don't think it's fair that you should be hearing every intimate detail."

I sighed. "Alright, fine," I said, hoping it would make her happy. "I won't listen in on their thoughts anymore. Happy?"

She was quiet. I took her silence as a confirmation and leaned back on the couch. I lifted Bella's legs and pulled them onto my lap, drawing random designs on her legs with my fingers as she returned to reading her book. When I was sure she was sufficiently distracted, I locked my gaze on the opposite wall and returned to spying on my daughter and her – _boyfriend_.

I didn't like the way this was going. First he made her cry, and now he was_ kissing_ her? He didn't seem to be trying to hide any of his thoughts from me. I thought he would have learned by now not to manage private affairs within a three mile radius of me. I would know his every thought, every feeling, every _wish_. And I knew his wishes were to be far closer to my daughter than I was comfortable with…

Just as easily as I found their thoughts, they seemed to disappear. I blinked, frowning. "What the…"

Bella calmly pulled her book away from her face. She wiggled her toes in my lap and smiled at me. "I told you not to spy on them, Edward."

I groaned, realizing what she had done. "You _blocked_ me?" I exclaimed. "You blocked their thoughts from me? _Why_?" I asked. It almost sounded like I was begging. "I'm just trying to make sure they keep their clothes on, Bella – especially at the rate they're going right now…"

Bella rolled her eyes. "They would never try that sort of a thing when they know we're sitting downstairs." She calmly returned to reading her book. And in a soft voice, she added, "They would have rented a hotel room."

My eyes doubled in size. "_What_?" I growled.

Bella merely smiled. "Relax," she said. It was clear that she had meant her comment as a joke, but I could find absolutely _no_ humor in her words. "You'll just have to listen to them like the rest of us," she patiently told me, tapping her ears.

I sighed, far beyond annoyed.

_Stupid shield…_

* * *

**Author's Note: So...? Like I said, it's different from Boredom... but I think there's a bit more humor in this one, which I enjoy writing!**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**

**Yours truly,  
Amelia Bedelia**


	3. Bending the Rules

**Author's Note: Um... Holy crap. Over 150 reviews for two chapters? Yeah, I tried to stop this story, but with THAT sort of support? I can't help but continue... SO - without much further ado, I give you the next segment in this series of one-shots between Jake and Renesmee!**

**Enjoy!**

**Bending the Rules**

I woke far earlier than I had in months.

With my hands behind my head, I sighed and pulled my eyes away from the small crack in the ceiling and looked once more at the digital alarm clock sitting on my bedside table. I let out a soft groan as the glowing, red numbers on my clock stared right back at me – _taunting_ me. It was as if they had a mind of their own and were _determined_ to remain five-oh-three forever.

For over twenty minutes, I had been trying – unsuccessfully – to fall back to sleep, but I was starting to wonder if it was even possible anymore. I desperately wanted to use what time I could to get as much rest before school started in just a couple of hours – and I was sure that later tonight I would be regretting my lack of sleep – but, for some reason, I just didn't feel _tired_. I was so – _awake_.

And there was absolutely no reason why I _shouldn't_ be sleeping. Renesmee and I had recently gotten our midterm grades back. Although they weren't nearly as good as Renesmee's scores, I seemed to be keeping up, even if it _was_ my second time through high school.

I was also in the healthiest, albeit abnormal, relationship of my life – there had been no problems ever since Renesmee and I had announced that we were "official" to her family. Even Edward seemed to be handling our change in relationship status far better than I could have ever expected, but I think that might have been in part because Bella – god bless that wonderful shield of hers – had gotten into the habit of blocking my thoughts from Edward whenever he was around.

I really owed her one.

I nearly jumped in surprise as the red three on my clock changed to a four, startling me from my thoughts. This change had caught me so off guard that I noticed my own pulse quicken by just a mere fraction of a second.

And now, I felt like a moron for being shocked by a stupid, little alarm clock when I was built to hunt down vampires for a living.

"This is _ridiculous_," I grumbled to myself as I forcefully kicked my bed sheets off of my legs. They crumpled into a messy pile at the foot of my bed, but I didn't bother to straighten them out. Instead, I headed straight for my bedroom door and walked out into the hallway without a second thought.

I hesitated only slightly as my eyes lingered on the bedroom door opposite mine. My mind was filled with thoughts of the beautiful, red-haired angel, sleeping peacefully on the other side of that wooden door, but I forced myself to let her get her rest. Just because _I_ wasn't tired enough to sleep through the night didn't mean I needed to go and wake _her _up, too. Besides – I could always find the rest of the Cullen's if I wanted company. The rest of her family was probably all huddled downstairs, anyway, since they didn't exactly _sleep_.

I trudged down the steps, hoping Emmett might be up for another quick wrestling match before school. His win last night had _not_ been legal. He claims he didn't cheat, but I _know_ he must have been reading Alice's lips or something. There's no way he should have won after I nearly had him pinned – someone must have been helping.

My thoughts came to an abrupt halt as I entered the open living room. Where I expected Bella to be reading her latest book, or Edward to be playing a game of chess with Alice, or even Rosalie to be flipping television stations, there was _no one_. They all seemed to have disappeared.

I hurried into the kitchen, expecting Esme to be fussing over what sort of breakfast recipe she might try on me this morning before school, but she wasn't there. _No one_ was here.

I froze in my place, trying not to panic. I mean – I could transform into a _wolf_! Renesmee and I were _more_ than capable of protecting ourselves. I should _not_ be this worried…

I remained motionless as I allowed my animalistic tendencies to take over. I pressed my fingers lightly to the surface of the kitchen counter. I waited to feel any sort of vibration that might have alerted me to any footsteps in the vicinity, but I felt nothing. With just the slightest motion, I tilted my chin up and took in a deep breath, allowing the scent of the room to fill my lungs. The rotten – yet, somehow, _tolerable_ – aroma of the Cullen family still remained deeply woven into the fabric of the furniture and their scent lingered in the air, but it was far too faint for them to have been here anytime recently; they had been gone for hours.

Finally, I allowed my ears to search for any sort of sounds in or around the house. The only sound that was present _inside_ was Renesmee's steady breathing and her rapid heartbeat. I closed my eyes, focusing intently on the noise surrounding the house. I heard the birds chirping in the trees as the rising sun woke them from their slumber, the cars as they whizzed past on the highway several miles from here, even a couple of the neighbors across said highway as they started to move around their homes before heading off to work. But I could catch no sound that alerted me to the whereabouts of the Cullen family.

And then – just as I was about to give up – I caught a soft echo of a low growl. It hadn't taken long to differentiate between growls in each Cullen's voice once I started to live with them, and this sound was most definitely from Jasper. Esme's higher-pitched snarl followed soon after.

_Hunting_, I finally realized, nearly smacking myself in the forehead at my stupidity. Of course – Renesmee had gone earlier this week with me, so the rest of her family must have stepped out for the night while we were asleep. Now that I think about it, their eyes _had_ been looking slightly darker than normal.

I let out a slow exhale as I realized just how worked up I had gotten over the Cullen's absence. My hand was in motion, about to pinch the bridge of my nose, when I immediately stopped and cringed.

_I'm turning into Edward_, I grumbled to myself as I realized how much that small gesture would have strongly resembled Renesmee's father. _I can't believe I'm turning into Edward. Of all people._

I tried to brush the horrible thought aside as I chose to use this extra time before school to take a nice, long shower. It wasn't very often that I actually had time to enjoy a shower. But since I was awake several hours earlier than I had _planned_ – well, I might as well use it to my advantage!

I jogged lightly up the staircase, trying not to disturb Renesmee's sleep, and then ducked into the bathroom. I dropped my boxers and left them in a pile in front of the closed door, then jumped into the cold shower, relishing the feeling of the cool water running against my burning skin.

My nice, long shower turned out to last only about five minutes. I tried to stay in longer than five minutes – like Renesmee often would – but I was bored! I would never understand how she could stand in the shower for nearly half an hour and I got bored after five minutes.

_Three more hours_, I reminded myself with a sigh. I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, dripping all over the linoleum floor. I grabbed the nearest towel and wrapped it around my waist, then picked up my boxers and left the room. _You still have three hours until school starts_.

Within minutes, I was dressed and ready to go. I was fully prepared to leave for school _three hours early_. I wasn't tired. I had nothing to do.

I was bored out of my _mind_.

I sat at the foot of my bed, bouncing my leg up and down as I tried to think of something – _anything_ – productive I could do. For one fleeting moment, I entertained the thought that instead of Esme making breakfast for me whenever she returned from her hunting trip, _I_ could do it! I bet I could experiment with that casserole thing she was talking about last night. I'm sure she left the recipe laying out on the counter somewhere. Besides, it didn't sound _that_ complicated.

But as soon as the thought had come, it vanished just as quickly as I imagined the sort of mess – and very possibly, the _fire_ – that I would most likely cause if I were to go anywhere near the oven.

Alright, so cooking was clearly _not _an option.

I casually scooted several inches to the left on my mattress, lying to myself as I insisted that I wasn't altering my line of sight just so I could peer out of my open bedroom door and stare at the brass doorknob of Renesmee's door.

_Please wake up_, I repeated like a mantra over and over in my head, hoping for the door to suddenly open. _Please wake up…_

I stared at the door for several more minutes before finally dropping backwards onto my bed in defeat. She wouldn't wake up – not for at _least_ another hour.

And I still had nothing to do.

I glanced around the room, noticing piles of dirty clothes lying over my desk chair, beneath my bed – there was even a t-shirt draped over the lampshade.

Well, _there_ was something to do.

I imagined the rest of my pack back home in La Push, laughing at me once they realized what I had become. Not only was I enrolled in freshman level classes, but now, I was actually cleaning my room for lack of anything better to do.

It was a good distraction, for awhile. It kept my mind from dwelling on Renesmee's absence from my side for a little over half an hour. My bedroom looked the best that it had since the day we moved in, which was a great accomplishment. My bed was made for the first time in two months.

And I still had two and a half hours until school started.

I nearly groaned in agony. This was torture – pure _torment_! Never before had I actually been driven to insanity – but I knew I was on the brink! If something eventful didn't happen soon, I would _lose my mind_!

I pondered the idea of taking a jog in the woods – maybe check in with the pack back home – before class as I started to pull all of my belongings together for the day, but I knew it was a horrible thought before I had even completed it. There was no way I would leave Renesmee home by herself. Pushing the idea out of my head, I tucked my homework into plastic folders, shoved various binders into my bag, and threw in a few textbooks. Then I realized – with a shock of _excitement_ – that my math book was missing.

It was as if this missing textbook had tripled my enthusiasm level for the day. _Finally_ – there was something for me to do. I had a mission – a _quest_ to find my missing textbook!

And I would do _anything_ in my power to find it.

_Alright, think_, I told myself as I glanced around the clean room. _Where did you last see it_?

I replayed yesterday's events in my head. I had brought it home with me – I knew that much. And I was sure I worked on the homework last night. Of course, because I had to ask Renesmee for help on –

_Oh_. I solved the mystery at once. I spun around on my heel, looking once again at the wooden door across the hall that I had spent most of my morning staring at. _Renesmee's room_.

I should let her sleep. I _had_ to. I mean – that would just be _rude_ if I woke her up just to get my _math_ book – she would be up soon enough… But I could sneak in and out in seconds – she wouldn't hear a thing – she'd have no idea, right?

I nearly grinned at the excuse I had finally created to go into Renesmee's room. Before I could talk myself out of it, I sped across the hall. Within seconds, I was standing at Renesmee's bedroom door with my hand on the doorknob and my chest pressed against the wood, anxious to go inside.

Wordlessly, I turned the handle and slipped into the room without a sound. I took one step inside, careful to avoid the squeaky floorboards beneath me. When there was no noise, I took another step and silently closed the door behind me, leaving the room pitch black once more.

I stood there for a minute and let out a shaky breath, staring across the room at the bed in the corner. There was the faintest of moonlight filtering into the room and the hint of a sunrise peeking between the curtains, but I was able to see her as clearly as ever.

Renesmee was sleeping on her side, facing the door behind me. Her figure seemed so full of curves from this angle that I couldn't help but stare at them in wonder. Her blankets were pulled up to her waist, covering her long, slender legs, as her arm rested casually in that groove of skin just above her hip bone and below her breasts. Her hand hung limply down over her stomach while the other was tucked beneath her head as she slept soundlessly. The auburn curls fell across her cheeks, nearly covering her eyes. I longed to step forward and brush her hair back to its rightful spot, but I couldn't – not when there was a risk that I might accidentally wake my sleeping beauty.

_Focus_, I told myself, forcing my eyes away from the beautiful woman in bed. I looked down at the ground, searching for my textbook, and found it on the floor by the head of Renesmee's bed within seconds.

I smiled as thoughts of last night's study session filled my mind. With each step forward, a new memory emerged. Renesmee's giggling as I feigned ignorance at a math problem just so I had an excuse to work beside her – the smug look on her face when she had solved a particularly difficult equation of her own – the smirk wiped clean as I eagerly pinned her to the bed and had my way with her, if only for five minutes before Edward conveniently interrupted our study session… But by the time I was hovering beside Renesmee's bed, I couldn't just remain undetected any longer. I knew there was no way I could leave this room without at least touching her pale, glowing skin.

I had completely forgotten about my math book, leaving it abandoned on the floor beside my feet. Instead, I gently leaned forward and touched a finger to her cheek, brushing the back of my hand down and across her jaw. I carefully tucked a single strand of hair back behind her ears, but it simply wasn't enough.

My eyes were fixated on her lips, studying the shape they made, imagining the feel of them against my own. The internal battle raged on inside of me. I tried to fight the urge to kiss her – I tried to convince myself to just wait another hour when I knew she would be awake – but I couldn't stand it any longer.

I sat lightly on the edge of the mattress, trying not to shake the bed, and then I leaned in and gently pressed my lips to hers.

I knew that the moment her lips eagerly responded to the touch, it was a lost cause. There was no way she would remain asleep, now.

I broke off the kiss, pulling away just a few inches. I smiled sadly as her eyes fluttered open in surprise and she sucked in a gasp of air.

"I knew that I would wake you up," I whispered with a slight smile, though there was no point in whispering anymore. "Sorry."

Renesmee yawned and stretched, but she continued to smile back at me. "I would much rather be woken like that _any_ day," she responded, reaching out to grab my hand.

"I didn't mean to," I told her. I sat up straight, looking down at my red-haired goddess as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. "I just came in to grab my math book, and – " I paused, allowing my eyes to wander across her face. "Well, I guess I just got distracted," I finished with a slight chuckle.

Renesmee just grinned, biting lightly on her lower lip. "I didn't mind," she replied in a soft, seductive voice. But I caught the rush of blood moving to her cheeks, even in the dim light.

I just laughed. I pulled my free hand out of my lap and lifted it to touch the side of Renesmee's face. "I'm sorry," I apologized once again.

She rubbed her fingers over the back of my hand. "There's no need for an apology," she countered. Then she finally seemed to notice that the sun hadn't even risen yet and frowned. "But what are you doing up so early, Jake?"

"Couldn't sleep," I confessed. "And then I was _so_ bored because _someone_ wouldn't wake up…" I complained with a smile playing at the corner of my mouth to show Renesmee that I was teasing.

She lifted a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Just how long have you been up?"

I shrugged. "Something like an hour," I guessed.

Renesmee burst out laughing. "You couldn't keep yourself entertained for an hour? Oh, Jake…" She trailed off, shaking her head in amusement.

"Well, I wasn't really tired," I tried to defend my behavior. "So when I went downstairs to bother your family instead of you, they were gone! Then I showered and cleaned my room, for once, and – "

"Wait," Renesmee abruptly cut me off. She stared up at me with a dropped jaw. "My family's _gone_?" she repeated.

I searched her expression, trying to understand why this was surprising news to her. "Yeah," I answered, watching her with curiosity. "They're just hunting, don't worry," I quickly tried to reassure her in case she was worried about their whereabouts. "They'll probably be back in an hour or so."

And then I caught that familiar fire igniting behind her eyes as her lips curled upwards into a mischievous smirk.

Though she wasn't nearly as strong as a full vampire, her strength still had the tendency of catching me off guard when I wasn't expecting it – and this was one of those times.

Her hands shot out and gripped the front of my shirt. She pulled me towards her with such force that my entire body flew through the air, soaring over Renesmee's figure, and landed on the opposite side of her bed, bouncing up and down on the springs of the mattress from the impact. Before I could take a moment to organize my thoughts, I felt a very pleasant weight on top of my chest.

"You should have told me that they were gone much sooner," Renesmee whispered against my lips, still clinging to the collar of my shirt.

I swallowed, feeling my lungs expand and contract a bit more than they normally had to. "Oh?" I managed to squeak out, surprised by this sudden turn of events. One moment, I was apologizing for waking her up, and _now_ she had me pinned beneath her – not that I was _complaining_, of course…

"Yes," she breathed. And then she crushed her lips to mine.

It didn't take long to respond to her eager actions. By the time I was fully conscious of the situation, my hands moved of their own accord, gripping her waist, sliding up and down her side, pulling her close, all the while fiercely attacking her lips with my own. I started to regain some amount of self-control and managed to roll Renesmee onto her back so that she was lying on her pillows again and I was now the one hovering above her.

I pulled away abruptly. I could feel Renesmee's chest heaving up and down beneath me as she gasped for air.

"Wow," I finally whispered, staring down at the curls that had fallen back into Renesmee's eyes. I brushed them away, allowing my thumb to linger on her bright, pink cheeks. "What was that for?"

She just sighed and closed her eyes. "I don't know," she finally muttered, letting her head fall to the side so that she was looking out of her window. I pressed my face into her neck as she continued to speak, brushing my nose against her flawless skin. "I just don't feel like I ever get any _alone_ time with you," she confessed. I kissed the underside of her jaw, listening to her words. "And when you told me no one was in the house – I just kind-of – "

"Lost control?" I supplied, feeling a smile creep onto my lips. I pulled away as Renesmee's head turned back to face me with an embarrassed look.

"Yes," she responded, blushing furiously. Then she suddenly looked like she was about to cry. "People are always _around_!" she whined, resting one hand on my neck and the other on my face. Immediately, Renesmee's memories of being at school and surrounded by the family at home flooded my thoughts. "And even if we _are_ alone in one room, it still feels like we're always being watched just because they're in the _other _room, you know, with their – _stupid_, overly sensitive hearing…" she stammered, clearly very frustrated with our situation.

I nodded sympathetically, knowing exactly what she meant. Of course, the Cullen family tried their best to give us our space, but it wasn't the same, knowing that they would always have tabs on us, whether intentional or not, no matter where we were.

"I understand," I told her, knowing that there was nothing more to say other than those simple words. And she knew that. "But…" I placed both hands on Renesmee's cheeks while still managing to hold myself above her on my elbows. "We're alone _now_."

Renesmee smiled. "That we are." She lifted her head off of the pillow to kiss me once more.

I cut her off again, holding up a finger. "But you know, Edward won't like this if he finds out," I said with a smirk. My hand slipped down from her cheekbone, outlining the shape of her neck, trailing down her arm, and stopping when I had her hip in my grasp. "He wasn't very happy when he saw us kissing on the couch downstairs last week – I'm sure he would be less than thrilled to hear that we're making out on your _bed_."

"We're not doing anything we _shouldn't_ be doing, right?" she asked in a soft voice. And then, practically causing me to choke on my own spit, Renesmee seemed to take things one step further than we had ever had a chance to venture prior to this moment in time. Somewhere in the past ten minutes, she had somehow managed to kick her bed sheets off of her legs. Then, like the true seductress that she is, raised one scantily clad leg up, ran her bare toes teasingly from my calf muscle up to my thigh, and then wrapped her leg securely around my waist. And knowing just what sort of effect she had on me, Renesmee peered up at me from beneath her thick eyelashes with that smug look on her face and deepened her voice just enough to send a shiver of delight shooting through my spine. "Besides, Jake – my family won't be back anytime soon."

I dropped my head and moaned into Renesmee's neck at the incredible tease she was being. "Oh my _god_," I murmured, fervently kissing her warm skin. I continued working my way downward, kissing a trail to the collar of her nightshirt. "You are so wise beyond your years, Nessie," I whispered as my lips reached the lowest point of bare skin I could without removing her shirt entirely. My hand acted of its own accord, controlled entirely by my lust, and dared to make its ascent from Renesmee's hips to her ribcage, this time slipping beneath her clothing and into uncharted territory, her bare skin now moving smoothly beneath mine. "_So_ wise…"

And it was at that exact moment, as luck would have it, that both of our heads whipped towards Renesmee's closed bedroom door as we heard footsteps two floors beneath us.

Before I even had a chance to scramble out of the bed, the door was thrown open and the hall lights flooded the room. I frantically continued to try and stand on my feet, but I ended up landing in a crumpled mess on the floor – on my math textbook, of all things.

I was too terrified to even find an ounce of hilarity in my current situation.

I considered blaming my fall on the surprise interruption, hoping I might be able to claim that I had been doing nothing wrong and was just "in the area" rather than lying in bed with Renesmee – but then I caught the face of our visitor standing in the doorway.

It was Edward – and he looked _murderous_.

"So, _this_ is what you do when we're not here?" His hands were clenched into fists at his side, his fingers twitching at every breath I took in. Had he not been a statue-like vampire, I was sure he would have been shaking out of fury. "Do you just _wait_ for us to leave at night so you can climb into bed with my _daughter_?"

"_Dad_," Renesmee hissed at Edward. She scrambled to pull her blankets up over her legs. Unfortunately, Edward caught this movement to hide her exposed skin and, immediately, his eyes flashed dangerously back to me. "Don't you _knock_?"

Edward was about to respond, but I chose to intervene and provide some sort of a weak explanation before things got carried away. I quickly shook my head at Edward's previous questions and held up a hand in defense. "No – _no_, Edward," I repeated firmly. I was too afraid to even _attempt_ to stand up, frightened that he might attack me while I was in the process of getting to my feet. Instead, I just pressed my back further into the metal frame underneath Renesmee's bed, hoping that if I didn't make any sudden movements, neither would _he_. "That's not what happened – we just woke up," I said in a somewhat shaky tone. "And you _know_ that – we didn't do anything wrong, Edward."

A second voice made itself heard, and I was eternally grateful for the interruption.

"Edward!"

Bella appeared almost instantly at Edward's side. "I'm so sorry," she quickly apologized in my direction, looking less like a vampire and more like a human in her frazzled state. "I didn't realize you were awake – I would have used my shield – " Bella broke off midsentence, turning to face Edward and placed both of her palms flat on his chest. "Calm down," she insisted. She reached up to his face and gently turned his head so that he was looking towards her and could not see Renesmee or me. "Nothing happened – _relax_, Edward," she whispered, hoping her words would soothe him. "_Relax_."

It did, to some extent. He closed his eyes, listening to Bella's voice as she managed to get his temper under control, and lowered his head until his forehead was resting on Bella's. I nearly sighed in relief, knowing the damage that _could_ have been done if she hadn't been here. I glanced up at Renesmee to see that she had a similar expression of gratitude for her mother on her face. She must have caught my gaze, because soon she looked down at me and discreetly slipped her fingers into my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

We remained like this for quite some time – Bella with Edward's forehead pressed up against hers and Renesmee with her hand clutching mine. Until, finally, Edward's eyes opened. He gently pulled away from Bella and looked me straight in the eye, giving off an air of serenity, yet appearing to have come to some sort of a conclusion that I knew he could not be swayed from. I sat up slightly taller, bracing myself for the verdict.

"You're moving out."

My jaw dropped.

* * *

**Author's Note: Haha - I loved that ending, for some reason... There's just something about Daddy Edward that is totally adorable... I think he has some Charlie Swan moments in him!**

**Technically, this chapter was supposed to be part of a longer chapter... but it got far too long and I figured it would be better if I just split it in half. So, next week (god willing - we all know how much of a procrastinator I can be) I will try to post the next chapter! Let's say... by next Friday?**

**Small teaser - the title of the chapter is Jealousy...**

**Yours truly,  
Amelia Bedelia**


	4. Jealousy

**Author's Note: Ok, kind-of a day late... but at least it's not weeks or months late! Anyway... this is sort-of like part two of the last chapter since this was supposed to originally be one chapter altogether... I definitely had fun with the Cullen boys towards the end, though! Hope you like it!**

**Enjoy!**

**Jealousy**

"This is _so_ unfair," Renesmee whispered as the crowd of kids at school seemed to move as one, herding us to our last class of the day. "I can't believe my dad is actually going to make you move out – and no one even _defended_ you!"

I shrugged. No one _had_ defended me; that much was true. But I also thought that her family knew – like I had – that there really was no way to get out of this mess without just living somewhere else. And it wasn't even like I would be that far, really. After Edward had finished explaining that I would leave the house as soon as possible and Bella merely rolled her eyes and shook her head in defeat, Esme cornered me the instant I reached the kitchen and insisted she let me help decorate the house.

Lunch was a rather quiet affair, however. Normally, you could always count on a good joke from Emmett or a chatty Alice, but the table was eerily silent. Renesmee sat on the opposite end as her father, refusing to even acknowledge him, and insisted I did the same. The only words that were spoken throughout the entire meal were Alice's as she told me all about my future home: a two-story brick house – including a furnished basement – with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large kitchen stocked with food, and an enormous yard. And – the best part, in my opinion – it was going to be built only a couple of miles away from their current house. I was in the process of asking why the house would be so large if I was supposed to be the only one living there, when Renesmee pressed her palm to my cheek. Images of the Cullen's expensive clothes, luxury cars, and state-of-the-art technology filled my mind, and I dropped the question, realizing that there would be no point in arguing when the Cullen's would only ignore me.

"It really doesn't matter," I whispered back to Renesmee as we rounded a corner in the hallway after lunch and fell into an even larger crowd of students shuffling off to class. I let my hand gently graze the back of hers, but I didn't hold onto it – a rule of the Cullen's, of course; draw as little attention to yourself as possible. We might have been dating, but that didn't mean we could _show_ that side of our relationship to the humans at school when the other students knew we were already living together as a foster family. And Edward had said that this rule was _especially_ strict since we were portraying freshman. But ever since I had caught Alice – another "freshman" – holding hands with Jasper in the hallway, I was about ninety-nine percent sure Edward had just made up the rule specifically for his daughter and me.

"The house will only be a few minutes away," I told her, hoping this news might lift her mood. "Maybe this will be the alone time you were looking for," I suggested. "You know – away from prying ears – and Edward's _mind_…"

She giggled, her laughter filling the hallway as it bounced off of the many posters covering the walls. "I guess that would be nice," she replied, looping her pinky finger through mine as we were pushed into a large crowd where no one would be able to notice the physical contact.

Soon, we arrived at our history classroom. I peeked inside and saw Alice already sitting at a desk in the back of the room, gazing blankly at the chalk board in front of her.

"Nessie," I said, stopping her from entering the room. She paused at the doorway and leaned back against the wall beside the entrance. Then she looked up at me with wide, curious brown eyes, nearly making me forget my words in the first place. "Everything will be alright," I reassured her. "I don't want you to be upset with your dad about this living arrangement. Edward is just looking out for your wellbeing – _not_ trying to ruin your life," I added, knowing that she would be thinking that very thought. "Just promise me you won't stay angry at him for too long – even if he _is_ being a little overprotective at the moment."

She just smiled up at me. "I promise," she murmured. Then she pushed away from the wall and leaned towards me.

I knew what she was about to do the instant she moved, and I immediately pressed my hands on her shoulder and pushed her back into the wall, keeping her lips far from mine. She looked stunned.

"Nessie, we _can't_, remember?" I hissed, looking frantically down the hall for other students that might have been late to class, but there was no one in the hall. "You know we're not supposed to be – _physical_ in public," I stammered, blushing at the thought.

Renesmee's head fell backwards. "This is _ridiculous_!" she whined in her loudest whisper. "We can't kiss at school, we can't kiss at home – and _now_ you're being kicked out of the house!"

I sighed. "It'll be alright!" I tried to remind her, but it didn't sound like she would be persuaded anytime soon. "Nessie, it won't be that bad! I'll just – "

"_No_!" she cut me off. Her voice was growing louder than a whisper. If she kept this up for much longer, the students inside the classroom would notice our presence. "I just want to kiss my _boyfriend_!" she told me, blinking furiously as her eyes started to fill with tears. "Is that so _bad_?"

"Ness – no, don't cry," I whispered, removing my hands from her shoulders to touch her cheeks. I used the pad of my thumb to wipe away a stray tear as it fell from her eye. "Nessie, please don't cry – I can't stand to see you like this."

She sniffed once, looking down at the collar of my shirt, and then nodded her head.

"Look – I promise, by our junior year, it won't look so strange to be dating," I told her. "But right now, everyone would be extremely suspicious if we lived in the same house and we were dating – but we're only _freshmen_." I dropped one hand, letting it slide down her arm and grasp her fingers. "Just give it time – we only have to wait a bit longer."

Renesmee swallowed. I was glad to see her eyes weren't shining with quite as many tears as before. Then she smiled. It was a feeble smile, but she was trying, nonetheless.

"Thank you," I said, smiling in return.

She simply lifted a hand to my face. The memory of our heated kiss from that morning filled my head and I laughed softly. Well, I suppose it was _one_ way of kissing before class. Then she pulled her hand away, leaving me momentarily flustered, and said, "We should get to class."

I nodded, glad that she had put the matter behind us, and followed her into our history classroom.

"Ah – Miss Cullen, Mr. Wolfe – so glad you could join us."

I smiled apologetically up at the man at the front of the room and quickly took my spot in the desk in front of Alice and beside Renesmee.

"As I was _saying_," the bald teacher continued, glaring at Renesmee and me before finishing his sentence, "we've got one last project before the end of the semester."

The class started to sigh in relief, glad to soon be over with the various projects that our history teacher had created for us to suffer through.

"But since this particular project is worth a good portion of your grade, I decided to let you work in pairs."

Excited whispers filled the room as the many students turned to their friends and asked if they wanted to work together.

They weren't alone. I swiftly turned in my chair, looking in Renesmee's direction. I was about to ask if she wanted to pair up when our bald teacher cut us off.

"And I took the liberty of already assigning you partners."

The mood in the room seemed to die down just as quickly as it had been lifted. Even Renesmee appeared disappointed as she crossed her arms and slumped down in her seat.

It was silent as our teacher read off the groups and which country they would be giving a presentation on. A few silent cheers were mimed as a couple of students were placed with their friends while some groans were emitted as others were paired with their least favorite person. A few students were eager enough to complete this project that they flipped pages in their textbook, looking for the country that the teacher had given them.

Finally, he said my name.

"Alice Cullen, Jacob Wolfe," our bald teacher announced, glancing over the top of his list to make eye contact with us in the back. "England."

"_Yes_," Alice hissed beneath her breath. She shifted in her chair, appearing smug as she leaned forward towards me and grinned. "This should be easier than normal."

I glanced over my shoulder at Alice and lowered my voice before speaking. "Let me guess – you already lived there," I said in a flat tone, knowing that the Cullen family had migrated to several parts of the globe over the past century.

She simply nodded and held up two fingers. "Twice."

I lifted my eyebrows in surprise and then felt a small laugh bubble to the surface. "Well, I probably should have guessed…"

And then, at the same moment, we both seemed to register that, while we might have gotten lucky, Renesmee wouldn't be with either of us.

"Sorry," I mouthed to her, but she merely shrugged in response, as if saying it wasn't a big deal. She wasn't smiling.

I was about to reach across the aisle to grab her hand, but the teacher interrupted our brief "moment" and called Renesmee's name off of his list.

"Renesmee Cullen, Brent Adams. Switzerland."

A blonde-haired boy at the front of the classroom sat straight up in his chair. He looked around the room, searching for his partner. Finally, he caught Renesmee's eyes and started to grin. He gave her a brief wave and a nod.

Then the goddamn bastard _winked_.

I looked over at Renesmee in horror. She was smiling back at the boy, waving in response.

I felt nauseous. This boy – _Brent_ – had just _winked_ at Renesmee – _my_ Renesmee! The _nerve_ of that kid – I was her _boyfriend_! I was sitting right beside her, and he was _winking_ at her, like I didn't even exist! Like I –

Like I _wasn't_ her boyfriend. Because he had no idea at all.

I lifted a hand to my head, massaging my temple as I mentally scolded myself for my stupidity. Of _course_ he didn't know we were dating. The Cullen's wanted it to remain under the radar. He _wouldn't_ know.

I was still in the process of yelling at myself when I heard a shuffle of movement. I glanced up, noticing that half of the students in the class were moving across the room. Including Renesmee.

"Wait – where are you going?" I asked frantically, reaching out for her arm. "Why are you moving?"

She looked puzzled. "We're supposed to go sit by our partners, Jake," she told me, trying to decipher my concerned expression. "Were you even listening to the directions?"

I blinked, wondering how much time had passed while I had been off in my own little world, worrying about this Brent Adams kid. "Oh – sorry," I muttered, acting as if I had just made a simple error. I released her arm, pulling my hand back to my side. "Um – go have fun," I said, forcing the words out of my mouth.

"_Right_," she scoffed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Then she lowered her voice so that only Alice and I could hear it. "Because it's _so_ much more fun with humans."

I felt instantly relieved.

"Of course," I mumbled to myself. Who would _want_ to spend time with a normal human when they could be with a _werewolf_?

Unless she was _tired_ of the werewolf and wanted to experiment with something new for awhile.

"Whoa, there, Fido," Alice muttered, turning towards me with a lifted eyebrow. "I haven't heard your blood rush _this_ much since you still hated Edward's guts."

I turned towards Alice, glared at her, and returned to staring Brent Adams down as he greeted Renesmee with a wide smile.

Alice quickly followed my gaze and started to giggle. I tried to ignore her as best as I could, but her musical laughter was hard to overlook.

"_What_?" I growled, unwilling to break my eyes away from the spot across the room where Renesmee was listening to the teacher's directions.

There were a few more peals of laughter before Alice stammered, "You're – you're _jealous_!"

I gave Alice a hard look, rolling my eyes. "I am _not_."

Her laughter grew louder but was able to keep from attracting attention from the teacher. "It's incredibly obvious, Jake," she said, cupping her hand so that I was the only one to hear her words. "You're about as easy to read as Bella used to be."

I didn't say anything. Instead, I focused on the conversation occurring between Renesmee and Brent across the room once the teacher had given the class permission to talk with their partners. I held my breath as they began to discuss their project.

"Alright, so… Switzerland," Renesmee muttered, looking down at her textbook. "Do you have any ideas as to how you want to present our information?" she asked, resting her chin on her hand. She peered up at him through her eyelashes with her deep, brown eyes – a look that should have been reserved _exclusively_ for me alone – practically making me march over to them in that very instant.

"Well…" Brent began sliding his desk around so that it was pressed up directly beside Renesmee's. "We can always make a poster," he said. "Or maybe some sort of a slideshow."

Renesmee nodded, listening to his ideas. "Yeah, sure," she said. I started to relax as I saw her eyes drift away from Brent and back towards me. She caught my gaze and made an exasperated face when Brent couldn't see her expression. I smiled at her in return.

"Wow," Brent interrupted our brief connection. Renesmee turned back to spot him nervously scratching the back of his head and staring down at their open textbooks. "This is incredibly lame."

"What do you mean?" Renesmee asked, expressing concern for this boy that she had just met. And then – to my horror – his eyes drifted up to meet hers as he gave her a lopsided grin.

My blood boiled.

"Just – you and me," he said, maintaining his smile. "We haven't even properly introduced ourselves and all we're talking about is how to present this stupid project." He chuckled softly. "I mean – we've been in the same class for half the semester, but I haven't even had the chance to say one word to you."

Shock registered on Renesmee's face for a moment before it was wiped clean by a soft giggle.

"Well, then, allow me," she said, extending her hand. "I'm Renesmee Cullen."

The boy laughed at her behavior. "Brent Adams," he responded, smirking back at her. "It's nice to finally meet you, Renesmee."

She laughed again, covering her mouth with her free hand.

That was the last straw.

I leapt out of my chair with the intention of heading straight over to Renesmee and that _kid_, but Alice's hand flashed out and gripped mine with all of her power. I glared down at her.

"Let – me – _go_," I hissed.

Alice's grip didn't waver. In fact, she was able to pull me down to her level. "Don't go over there," she told me. "You'll just end up embarrassing yourself."

I scoffed, wrenching my arm free from her grip. "You can't see my future," I reminded her with a smug look. She couldn't see anyone in the pack. I wasn't _stupid_.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I don't need to see your future to know you're about to do something you'll just regret," Alice muttered, smoothly folding her arms over her chest and crossing her legs in one fluid movement.

I paused, contemplating her words. She was probably right, after all; I would just make a fool out of myself.

But then I heard Renesmee laugh again.

I glanced over just in time to see Brent holding one hand over his stomach as he laughed and clapping his other hand on Renesmee's shoulder.

I growled.

Before Alice could stop me again, I marched straight over to Renesmee. She didn't have much time to register that I was coming, because, by the time she would have heard my footsteps, I was already standing directly behind her.

"Hey, Nessie," I said in a constricted voice. She glanced up over her shoulder and I forced myself to put on a smile, though I felt nothing like smiling at the moment. "Uh – how are you?"

Renesmee lifted an eyebrow, staring blankly at me. "I'm fine, Jake," she said in a soft voice, trying to figure out why I had appeared so suddenly. And then, before she could say anything more, I crouched on the floor between her and Brent's desk. I put an arm over her shoulders, causing Brent to quickly pull his hand away and drop it dejectedly into his lap.

"Nessie?" Brent repeated. His lip curled upwards into a smile; he didn't seem fazed by my presence in the slightest. "A nickname?" he asked.

Renesmee nodded. "Yeah," she said with a shrug. "I go by Nessie – sometimes Ness."

"But usually Renesmee," I quickly cut her off. I glared directly at Brent, unwilling to break eye contact with him. "_You_ can call her Renesmee."

Brent finally seemed to catch on that I wasn't here to become friends with him anytime soon. His eyes widened at my comment and he seemed to unconsciously shift away from me in his chair.

"Oh, uh…" Renesmee quickly sensed the escalating tension between Brent and me, and started gesturing back and forth between the two of us as she introduced us to each other. "Jake, this is Brent," she said. "Brent – this is Jake." She glanced at me, biting her lower lip. "He's my, uh… best friend."

Brent held out a hand. I peered down at it for a moment as I considered refusing the courtesy of shaking his hand. But, knowing the words that Renesmee would most likely have with me after class was finished, I decided to maintain the façade of at least _appearing_ friendly towards Brent.

"Nice to meet you, Jake," Brent said with a broad smile. He clasped my hand within his, exerting a small amount of force in his handshake. I strengthened my hold on his fingers, causing his hand to make a few popping sounds and his face to contort in discomfort.

I stared back at him with the same, cold look without saying another word.

Brent swallowed. He quickly wriggled his hand out of mine and began fidgeting in his seat as his eyes desperately searched for something else to look at. "Uh – well…" He tried flipping a few pages, as if to give the impression of actually working on their research project.

"Jake, what do you need?" Renesmee quickly interrupted Brent before he could stammer through a sentence. I pouted silently to myself as I realized that I wouldn't be able to witness that particular embarrassment of his.

"What do you mean?" I asked, giving her a genuine smile as soon as Brent was out of my line of sight. "I don't need anything."

She tilted her head to the side, as if analyzing me, and I knew she could see exactly what I was doing. "Then why did you come over here?" she asked, knowing she would soon trap me into a corner.

I panicked, trying to think of a decent excuse for visiting her. I spit out the first thing that popped into my mind. "I need a pencil," I said with a solemn expression. Renesmee pursed her lips and lifted an eyebrow, sensing my lie. My face started to turn red as I continued speaking. "Mine broke," I mumbled. "And I need another one."

"Is Alice out of pencils?" she asked, glancing over my shoulder where Alice was scribbling away on a scratch piece of paper.

I swallowed. "That's her last one," I blurted out. I waited for Renesmee to contradict me once more, but she merely sighed and turned to her pencil bag, fishing around for another pencil. Soon, she pulled one up and handed it over to me with a knowing look. All I could do was grin at her and hope that Brent had finally gotten the message to back off. "Thanks, Nessie," I said. "You're the best."

She nodded, rolling her eyes as she turned back to her textbook. "Yeah, yeah…"

I hurried away, headed back towards my original desk.

Alice looked up with a smile playing at her lips. "How did it go, Jake?"

I plopped into my desk, hearing the plastic creak as I caused it to bend beneath my weight. Then I turned to Alice's waiting expression and glared at her.

"Shut up."

* * *

I hovered outside of the classroom, waiting anxiously for Renesmee to throw her things in her bag and leave already. Alice had ditched me in order to catch up with the rest of the family towards the end of the hallway. I fidgeted, rocking from one foot to the other as Renesmee finally zipped up her bag, but stopped to laugh at another one of Brent's jokes.

I shook with anger.

_Calm_, I commanded myself. _There are witnesses_.

I chose to direct my hearing towards the end of the hallway where Bella was chatting with Alice.

"You should have seen him," Alice reported with a light giggle. "He just walked right over to them!"

Bella laughed, throwing her head back. "To _Renesmee_?" she verified.

I cringed, realizing that the story Alice was retelling was of my embarrassment last period.

"Yes! And his excuse – get this – was to ask for a _pencil_!" This time, both Alice and Bella's laughter rang out together, filling the halls.

I took in a deep, calming breath, trying to ignore them, and realized that Renesmee was finally walking out of the classroom door –

With Brent.

"Hello, _Brent_," I greeted him shortly. I sidled up next to Renesmee, hoping to usher her as quickly as possible out of the building and away from _him_.

Brent's smile wavered, glancing up at me. "Hey, Jake," he quietly responded.

And then, to my disappointment, he remained close to Renesmee's other side as he walked _with_ us.

"Don't you have to go to your locker or something?" I asked in a sharp tone. I didn't even try to cover it up with a smile.

Renesmee, however, spoke before Brent could.

"_Jake_," she hissed in a low tone. "Knock it off!"

"What?" I countered, feigning innocence. "I was just _asking_…"

She widened her eyes at me, sending me a brief glare, and then her expression lightened as we walked closer to her family. "Hey, guys!"

"Hey, Nessie," Bella immediately greeted her daughter. She sent a knowing smirk in my direction before asking, "Who's your new friend?"

It didn't even matter that Bella and I had been friends for years – I would have ripped her arms off for that antagonizing comment alone had we not been in the middle of a high school full of humans.

"Oh, uh…" Renesmee trailed off, turning to look at Brent with a small smile. "Brent Adams," she supplied them with a name. "This is my, uh…" She glanced around at the seven of us crowding the hallway. "Family," she finished lamely, choosing not to list off all of our names. Everyone in the school knew who we were _anyway_. "Right," she continued, glancing down at the floor as she kicked the toe of her shoe into the tile. "Well, I'll see you all later – Brent and I are going over to his house to work on our project for a few hours."

The teasing atmosphere the rest of the Cullen's held just moments before evaporated as six pairs of eyes shot nervously over in my direction.

"You're – _what_?" I asked in disbelief. No – she wasn't supposed to hang out with anyone else outside of school – _we_ always hung out after school! "You're going over to his _house_?" I caught a brief glance from Edward and decided to change my approach. "Nessie, why don't you two study at _our_ house instead?" _So I can keep an eye on that slime ball…_

Renesmee frowned. "Why?" she asked in a confused voice.

"Well," I fumbled for an excuse, "you never told Esme where you would be after school," I lied. I glanced at the boy, narrowing my eyes in his direction. "She might, uh – get upset because you made plans without letting her know in advance." I nodded, trying to assure myself that this was a logical excuse, though I knew it was the worst lie that I had ever thought up. "Yeah – she could get mad."

Renesmee stared back at us with her mouth hanging open. "_What_?" she asked, thoroughly puzzled. "Esme doesn't get _upset_," she told me with an air of disbelief.

"Come on," I stammered, searching for another feeble excuse. "We can give _Brent_ – " I choked on the word " – a tour of the house."

Renesmee was about to open her mouth to protest against my bizarre behavior, but her mother – unfortunately – defended her.

"It's fine," she said, turning her sharp gaze on me. "Jake, Renesmee is allowed to go over to a friend's house if she wants to," she told me in a firm voice. And then, remembering Brent's presence, she hastily added, "I'm sure Esme will be fine with it when she realizes Renesmee is going _just to work on homework_," she emphasized, glaring at me.

"But if it's easier, I guess we could go to your house," Brent spoke up, trying to act as the mediator. _Bastard…_ "It's fine, really, if that would make things easier…"

"_No_," Renesmee abruptly cut him off. She glared at me, seeming to finally understand that my ulterior motives were simply to keep her away from Brent. "Let's go," she stubbornly insisted, grabbing Brent's wrist and dragging him along behind her as she led him towards the school's exit.

"No, Nessie – _wait_!" I pleaded as she sped through the doors. She didn't even stop to turn around as my voice came out in a strangled whisper. "Please don't go…"

By the time she was out of earshot, Rosalie started to laugh at my horrified expression.

"What was _that_ all about?" she asked, clearly amused by the situation.

"He's _jealous_," Alice eagerly piped up.

Bella reached out and slapped her friend's arm, urging her to keep the taunts to herself for now. But instead of reprimanding Alice, she directed her words at me. "Jake, they're just working on a project," she told me. "I know you're worried, but she's a smart girl. You have to let her experience some things on her own." When I still had not torn my eyes away from the double set of doors that Renesmee had charged past in her speedy exit, Bella raised her voice to grab my attention. "_Right_, Jake?"

I reluctantly glanced at her. Then, just as I was about to give in and admit defeat, the last person I had expected to help was now defending me.

Edward stepped forward, intercepting his wife's gaze. "You didn't hear that kid's thoughts," he told her in a low whisper. "They weren't even _close_ to appropriate, Bella."

I'm pretty sure I whimpered when I heard this news.

"Right," Emmett swiftly agreed. He crossed his arms over his chest, causing his biceps to flex. "I've seen scum like him before – I'm telling you, all that kid had on his mind was sex."

"He _did_!" Edward added, continuing his fierce staring battle with Bella. "And I would _know_! I _heard_ it!"

"He – _what_?" My legs shook at this information. "S-s-_sex_?" I choked out. "So I'm not just making this up – he's going to try to – to make a move on her?" I swallowed, but my throat remained dry. "He's going to take her away from me?"

"Unless I was misinterpreting the lustful vibes from him towards someone _else_ here," Jasper supplied, "I'm pretty sure he's rather attracted to Renesmee."

That was enough to make me drop to my knees and throw my head into my hands.

"_No_," I moaned, rocking back and forth on the floor. "Renesmee," I murmured over and over to myself. "My Renesmee…"

"Oh, come _on_," Rosalie cut in. "This is _not_ the end of the world, mutt," she told me with a roll of her eyes. "It's not like she can't protect herself from this measly little human, right? I mean – she _is_ part vampire."

"And you've got to trust that she'll make the right choice," Bella said. "If she loves you half as much as you love her, then there's no way she'll even think twice about Brent."

"Right," Alice agreed. "I bet Renesmee will be back in your arms two hours from now."

"Yeah," I said as my breaths came in short, panicked gasps, "but whose arms is she in _now_?"

And then I stormed out.

The girls shouted at me, insisting that I was making a big mistake by going after Renesmee. They said I would lose her trust and that she would only get angrier because of it. But, frankly, I didn't care. All I worried about was getting her back.

Before I had even reached the doors, the girls' warnings stopped and I thought, for a moment, that they had finally given up their fight. Then I realized that their silence was not because they had backed down, but because they were in shock.

Because Edward, Jasper, and Emmett were following me.

"Let's get your girl back," Emmett announced, slapping my shoulder as we stepped onto the pavement and looked around at the empty parking lot.

I was too baffled to respond.

"Come on," Edward said, looking off to the right. "She's just a mile or so away. I can still hear her thoughts in the vicinity."

I didn't need much more encouragement than that. I shot off like a bullet in the direction that he had been looking, although my speed was bordering on impossible for the average human. The others trailed behind me, occasionally hissing at me to slow down so that no passerby's grew suspicious, but each time I was forced to slow down only caused me to speed up even more just a few seconds later.

By the time I had the sense to begin running through backyards and ducking into clusters of trees so that I didn't have to limit my speed, I had caught up to Renesmee and Brent in the car that they had been traveling in.

"He's planning on turning left in three blocks," Edward informed me when their car was in our line of sight. "He lives in the house on the corner."

I sprinted ahead of the car, making it to the house well before Brent and with half of the Cullen clan on my tail.

"Is this the place?" Emmett asked just a few seconds after I had ducked behind a large shrubbery across the street from Brent's house. "Is this where the kid lives?"

Jasper snuck up behind me without my realization. "It's got to be him," he murmured. I noticed him frown, clueing me in that he could sense something the rest of us could not.

"What?" I sharply asked, jumping to a multiple number of – hopefully – false conclusions. "What's wrong? Why are you making that face?"

Jasper sadly shook his head. "Nessie's not happy," he softly told me, having felt her emotions in the car that would soon be turning onto the street. "Frankly, she's pissed at you."

I groaned.

"Alright – well, thanks for helping me get here. You guys can head back if you want," I told the others. "I'll talk to her alone."

"Wait." A hand gripped the back of my shirt, pulling me back behind the bushes. Edward was looking pointedly at me with narrowed eyes. "This doesn't change anything."

I searched my thoughts for some clue as to what he meant by this statement. "Doesn't change what?"

"You moving out," he reminded me. "Just because I'm here – because I support your relationship with my daughter – that doesn't mean I'm about to let you back into the house."

I would have laughed had he told me this information at any other time. Instead, I calmly replied, "I know. I never expected you to let me back in. It's fine."

Edward seemed startled by my answer, even though he could read my thoughts. "Well. _Good_," he huffed, roughly loosening his grip on my shirt. "Fine, then."

This time, I did smile. And, just as I was about to jog across the street to Brent's home for a second time, I stopped in my tracks, turning back around to face the others. "Not that I'm complaining, but – why, exactly, _are_ you guys here, anyway?" I asked, my eyebrows pulling together in confusion. "Why did you decide to help me?"

The three boys seemed to peer around at each other, waiting for someone else to speak up first.

Emmett broke the silence, scratching the back of his head, appearing somewhat uncomfortable. "If we were in your shoes, well…" He shrugged. "We would have done the same thing. You know," he elaborated, "we would have gone to get our girl back."

Jasper nodded, seeming slightly embarrassed to be agreeing with this statement. "I wouldn't have sat back if Alice walked off with another man."

Edward seemed to clear his throat, catching my attention. "And _you_ know what I'm willing to do to keep Bella."

I swallowed, immediately remembering Edward's pleas several years ago for me to give Bella the option to have a safer child –

And I couldn't have been happier that I never followed through with that ridiculous plan.

"Now, go _get_ her!" Emmett hissed at me, shoving me in the side so that I stumbled forward and into the street –

Directly in front of a car.

The car screeched to a halt, thankfully stopping inches before my kneecaps. It would have done no damage whatsoever to _me_, of course, but it certainly would have been very curious to have had to explain why the car received a dent and I had no injuries.

Just as I was about to dart away from the almost-accident to wait for Renesmee and Brent to arrive at his house, I heard a muffled shriek of, "_Jacob_!" from within the car.

My eyes snapped to the passenger seat where Renesmee was sitting with her arms folded stubbornly across her chest and her eyes glaring daggers at me.

"Nessie!" I exclaimed. I quickly ran to her door, tugging anxiously on the handle for her to let me in.

She watched me for a few seconds, lifting one eyebrow in amusement at my attempts to reach her through the locked door, and then let out a heavy, dramatic sigh. She turned to Brent – still shaking and gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles from the near collision – and began speaking in a normal volume to him.

"I just need to talk to Jake," I managed to catch her saying to Brent through the metal car door. "Go on inside – I'll meet you there in a minute."

He took three deep breaths before nodding his head and pressing the automatic unlock button on his door. The locks clicked and I immediately wrenched open the hunk of metal.

"_Nessie_," I sighed her name in delight when she calmly stepped out of the vehicle and closed the door behind her. She remained straight faced as Brent pulled into the driveway and slowly got out of his car, purposely dragging his feet inside. "Nessie, I'm sorry – I don't want to fight with you," I continued speaking, forgetting all about Brent's lingering presence. "Please – I'm _so _sorry, Nessie, you've got to believe me."

Renesmee held tightly onto her arms over her chest, jutting her hip out to the side and tapping one foot. Finally she asked, "How did you get here so fast?" She squinted, leaning forward towards me. "Did you run here?"

"Yes," I quickly admitted, wanting to be completely honest and upfront with her so as to eliminate any possibility of her remaining upset with my juvenile behavior earlier.

Then, stopping her toe tapping, she put both hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side. "Were you _trying_ to kill Brent by just running out into the street like that?"

I rapidly shook my head. "No, Emmett pushed me."

Her jaw went slack for a moment. "_Emmett_?" Renesmee's head whipped over to the place where I had come from. "Emmett!" she shouted. "What are you _doing_?"

I could picture the pink tinge that would have been covering Emmett's cheeks had he been alive as he tentatively poked his head out from behind the shrubbery. Then, one-by-one, Jasper followed Emmett's motion by showing his face while Edward stepped out from behind the bush entirely. Emmett let out a guilty chuckle. "Hey there, Ness…"

Renesmee looked ready to inflict damage upon something. "What are you all _doing_ here?" she shouted at her family members. "Does _no one_ in my family believe I can handle myself on my own?"

"Believe me, it's not that," Jasper interrupted her before she could begin her inevitable rant. "We just picked up on some less than honorable intentions that this boy has towards you."

"So you came to make me leave?" she asked in a forceful tone. "Is _that_ it?"

Emmett scrunched up his nose and tilted his head to the side as he thought. "_Well_ – "

"No," I hurriedly cut her uncle off. "No, Renesmee, we're not."

Edward looked puzzled. "We're not?"

I kept my eyes trained on Renesmee. "We're not," I repeated. I noticed that Renesmee's glare had diminished to merely an inquisitive stare.

I swallowed and sighed before slowly reaching out to take both of Renesmee's hands. "Nessie, I'm really sorry about acting like an insecure, _jealous_ boyfriend earlier," I apologized, rubbing my thumbs in circles over the backs of her hands as I spoke. "I should have put more trust in you than I did – and I'm sorry about that," I continued. "I know that you would never do anything to put our relationship at risk, and I was stupid to have ever doubted you before." I dropped her hands, moving my grip up to her shoulders. "Please forgive me," I desperately begged her.

I waited an agonizing ten seconds before Renesmee's lips curled up into that familiar smile I had long since grown accustomed to needing just to make it through each and every day. Then, with a short, "Oh, I wasn't even _that_ mad at you…" Renesmee threw herself into my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist while I did the same to her.

I allowed myself to rejoice in her forgiveness for another minute or so before gently pulling her away from me. "Now – as much as I trust _you_," I assured Renesmee, "I do have one small selfish request."

She frowned up at me. "And what's that, Jake?"

I took a moment to peer over at Brent's house, verifying that he was spying on us from the front window, then turned to send Edward a remorseful glance. "As much as I respect your rules, Edward, there's just one I need to break." I locked my gaze back on Renesmee's before dipping her backwards with the support of my left hand as I placed my right behind her neck and firmly planted my lips against hers.

The kiss wasn't very long, nor was it nearly as passionate as the one that we had shared that morning before school that resulted in me getting kicked out of the house, but it was more than enough to get my point across.

Once I pulled away, I slowly righted her on her feet and maintained eye contact. "I may trust you, but I _don't_ trust him," I softly told Renesmee, nodding in the direction of Brent's house. "And if you're going to be going to random boys' houses, they need to know that you're off-limits." I lifted my hand to brush a lock of her auburn hair aside, tucking it firmly behind her ear. "You belong to _me_," I said. Then, realizing how possessive that sounded, I quickly amended my statement. "If that's alright with you."

Renesmee had tears forming in her eyes as she bit her lower lip and nodded eagerly. "Of course," she whispered in response, unable to say anything much louder than that. "I'm all yours."

"Alright, you're not _all_ his," Edward rudely interrupted the moment with a small growl that, I'm sure, was meant to intimidate me, but did nothing of the sort when I had the comfort of Renesmee back in my arms. "You two still have some boundaries to uphold," he reminded us.

I was about to respond with some sort of brown-nose comment along the lines of, "I would never dream of disappointing you, sir," when Renesmee chose to interrupt my words by jumping back into my arms to kiss me once more.

Emmett's laughter boomed loudly behind me as I wrapped my arms instinctively around Renesmee's waist, lifting her from the ground as she continued fiercely attacking my lips. By the time we managed to stop for a breather, I noticed that Emmett's reason for laughing was that Edward had been having a reaction akin to someone who had the flu and was about to upchuck. Jasper, at least, was respectful enough to at least try to avert his eyes from the scene even though he could feel every emotion running through our bodies at that moment.

"Alright, alright, show's over," Edward loudly announced once Emmett's laughter had attracted the eyes of Brent's neighbors. Then, with a grim face, Edward stepped towards us with his arms folded over his puffed out chest. "You two made up, now, are you happy? Can we leave?"

"Uh – well, you can," I told Renesmee's father with a rather unapologetic shrug. "I, on the other hand, am going to be a wonderful boyfriend and volunteer to help Renesmee and _Brent_ on their project." I tucked Renesmee snugly into my side, keeping one arm firmly wrapped around her shoulders as I peered down at her to catch her reaction to my announcement. "Is that alright with you?"

Renesmee giggled lightly, turning her head briefly in towards my chest to muffle her laughter. Then, glancing back up at me, she asked, "So you're going to keep an eye on Brent the whole time?"

I pretended to think this over. "Is that a problem?" I countered.

She smirked. "As long as you actually _pretend_ like you want to help us with our work, I'm alright with it!"

I beamed back at her. "Great!" I exclaimed. Then, with a brief wave in her family's direction – each one of them watching me with a hint of amusement – I proceeded to walk Renesmee up to the front door of Brent's house without removing my hand from around her shoulders.

I didn't even have to knock before Brent quickly opened the door.

"_Hey_ there, Brent," I greeted him with a smug smile. I smoothly led Renesmee through the door with her hiding her spurts of laughter in my shirt and headed directly towards the living room just off of the main hallway. "I offered to help my _girlfriend_ with your project on Switzerland," I told him, putting a very clear emphasis on the girlfriend aspect of the sentence.

Renesmee managed to slip out of my grip, plopping down onto one end of the sofa. I took this opportunity as my one chance to intimidate the boy. With a slow stride, I stepped closer and closer to the boy, towering over him with a tight smile stretched across my face. "You don't mind that I'm helping my _girlfriend_, Brent," I commented with a soft chuckle of my own. Then, dropping the smile entirely, I pressed my face in just a couple inches closer so we were nearly nose to nose. "_Do_ you, Brent?"

I was pleased to hear the audible sound of Brent's blood pulsing through his main arteries, as well as the very noticeable swallow he was forced to take before speaking. "Uh – no, don't mind," he quickly tried to assure me. By the time I saw the corners of his lips twitch, as if he were trying to give a comforting smile and couldn't, I knew I had given the boy enough of a reason to have nightmares for the next week alone. Then, swiftly darting past me, he moved to the same couch that Renesmee was perched on and sank into the cushions. "Now, let's get started, shall we?"

I followed Brent's lead and walked toward the couch. Then, with less daintiness than I probably should have had, I fell backwards onto the cushions and squeezed myself directly between Brent and Renesmee. This caused both of them to bounce slightly as I landed. I soon wrapped my arms around their shoulders in order to pull them closer.

"Great idea," I told Brent as I caught a small chuckle from Renesmee just before she rolled her eyes at my antics. "Where should we begin?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Gotta love the possessive boys... Haha! I certainly enjoy writing their characters!**

**As for future chapters - I've got some ideas in the works, but I haven't started anything as of now. I'll be focusing on a longer story and a few other one-shots for this summer! You can check out my profile page to see which stories I'm working on at the moment!**

**Yours truly,  
Amelia Bedelia**


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